The youngest Tapir from a Quaternary deposit of the Americas

ABSTRACT

The Cuvieri Cave is a palaeontological site located in the Lagoa Santa Karst, known for its large number of caves containing bones preserved from recent and extinct vertebrate animals. These caves served as natural traps for numerous groups of animals and, due to their relatively stable environmental conditions, much osteological material was preserved. Tapirids have had their remains recognised since the Pleistocene, but very young individuals are extremely rare and little known. The present study describes the occurrence of the youngest specimen of Tapirus found in Quaternary deposits. The specimen consists of teeth, vertebrae and appendicular bones (femurs, humerus, tibia, radius, ulna, and scapula). No evidence of wear, predatory attack or weathering was observed on the bones. Due to the size and morphology of the bones and the non- wearing of the teeth, it is possible to infer that the individual was very young and might have been accidentally separated from the mother before falling in the natural trap.

KEYWORDS:

• Tapiridae
• Cave
• age estimation
• Quaternary
• South America
• Lagoa Santa

Acknowledgements

The authors thank also the Department of Genetics and Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biosciences, University of São Paulo which allowed the preparation of fossils in its laboratory. Mercedes Okumura holds a CNPq Productivity Scholarship (302163/2017-4).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.