SKULL OF THE PLEISTOCENE TAPIR. 
59 
Of Pleistocene tapirs only a few species are known although the 
few specimens recovered indicate a wide geographical distribution 
for the family. As early as i860 Leidy described a tapir from the 
Pleistocene of Kentucky, and assigned to it the specific name 
Tapirus haysii.* This species has since been recognized at a num- 
ber of localities in the eastern part of the United States. A sub- 
species, T. haysii calif ornicus, has been described by Me.rriam from 
the Auriferous Gravels of California.! A tapir smaller than T. 
haysii, found fossil at many localities in the eastern part of the 
United States has been commonly referred to the existing South 
American species T. terrestris . This identification, however, always 
doubtful, is probably incorrect as indicated by the fossil described 
in the present paper. The tapirs reached South America as early at 
least as the Pleistocene, two or three species having been recognized 
by Lund in the cavern deposits of Brazil. From the Pleistocene of 
China a tapir is reported which has been described as Tapirus 
sinensis. % 
Of the North American Pleistocene tapirs T. haysii, particularly 
the sub-species T. haysii calif ornicus, presents according to Mer- 
riam, so far as can be determined by tooth characters, a closer rela- 
tionship to Tapirella ( Elasmognathus ) bairdii than to any other 
recent species. The new species described in this paper finds its 
place as shown by the skull characters, in the genus Tapirus. 
SKULL OF THE PLEISTOCENE TAPIR. 
The skull obtained at Vero is that of a mature individual. All 
the permanent teeth had come into use, although fortunately for the 
purposes of study of tooth structure, they are but slightly worn. 
The lower jaws are wanting. However, the Survey collection con- 
tains parts of the lower jaws of other individuals from the same 
locality, as well as numerous detached upper and lower teeth. 
* Holmes’s Post-Pliocene Fossils of South Carolina, p. 106, pi. 17, Figs. 
4, 7-10, i860. 
f Tapir Remains from Late Cenozoic Beds of the Pacific Coast Region 
Univ. Cal. Pub., Vol. 7, pp. 169-175, 1913. 
tSchlosser, M., (Die fossilen Saugethiere Chinas nebst einer Odento- 
graphie der recenten Antilopen. Abh. k. bayer. Akad. Wiss., cl, lii, Vol. xxii, 
Pt. I, Munich, 1913. 
