SKULL OF THE PLEISTOCENE TAPIR. 6 1 
the cranium is more or less arched. The crest in the adult Tapir us 
indicus forms a broad ridge. A rather more pronounced sagittal 
crest is found in mature individuals of Tapirella bairdii. The max- 
imum development of the sagittal crest among tapirs is found in 
the skull of old individuals of Tapirus terrestris. In this species 
the crest becomes very pronounced and the cranium is arched, and 
rises at the center much above the plane of the nasal bones. In 
T. terrestris, in particular, the development of the. crest would seem 
to be at the expense of brain capacity. The sides of the skull below 
the crest in this species are contracted, and actually become concave 
in rising to the crest. The crest of the modern species, together 
with the contracted sides of the skull affords a greatly increased 
space for attachment of the muscles of mastication. 
Important differences are found in the proportionate develop- 
ment of the facial and cranial parts of the. skull. The Pleistocene 
tapir has a relatively shorter face than has any one of the modern 
species. This difference, apparent upon inspection, is brought out 
more definitely by measurements as shown in the tables given below. 
In the following table the length of the skull on the median line 
is given in column i ; the length of the face from the nasal-frontal 
suture to the anterior tip of the premaxillaries in column 2 ; the 
measurement from the posterior margin of the hard palate to the 
tip of the snout in column 3. The proportionate length of the face 
as compared to the whole length of the skull on the mid-line is given 
in column 4. In column 5 is given the proportionate length of the 
hard palate as compared to the whole skull. 
1. 
2. 
3- 
4- 
5- 
Length of 
Length of 
Length of Pro. face Pro. pal. 
skull (cm.) 
face (cm.) 
palate 
to skull 
to skull 
(%.) 
(%) 
Florida Tapir 
400 mm. 
214 mm. 
198 mm. 
53-5 
49-5 
T. indicas 
435 mm. 
270 mm. 
219 mm. 
62 
50.3 
T. terrestris 
366 mm. 
205 mm. 
187 mm. 
56 
5i 
T. roulini _ _ 
350 mm. 
190 mm. 
183 mm. 
54-2 
52.2 
Tapirella bairdii 
- 435 mm. 
305 mm. 
232 mm. 
70.1 
53-3 
T. dowi 
422 mm. 
289 mm. 
227 mm. 
68.4 
53-7 
The measurements just given indicate that the face of the mod- 
ern tapirs, although varying in the different species, is, without 
