A new generic name for the Asiatic tapir

Vol.

XXVI,

pp. 65-66 March 22, 1913

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

A NEW GENERIC NAME FOR THE ^{ASIATIC TAPIR.}

BY

^{E. A.}

GOLDMAN.

Comparison

^{of the skulls of the}

American and

Asiatic tapirs indicates that the existing

members

^of the

family

Tapiridae are divisible

by

^{cranial characters into three}

nearly coordinate groups which may

^be

^regarded

as generic in rank.

These

are Tapirus Brisson, the

type

^of

which

is

Hippopotamus

^terrestris Linnaeus,

from

_{Brazil; Tapirella}

Palmer, with Elasmognathus

bairdii Gill,

from

the

Isthmus

of

Panama,

as type;

and

a third

group

typified

by

the species currently recognized as Tapirus indicus

Desmarest, from

Asia.

The

_generic

name Rhinochoerus must

be

disregarded

^{as it}

was proposed by Wagler

^to replace Tapirus

because

the latter

was not derived from

aclassical root.*

This name was _{adopted by} Grayt

^forthe Asiatic _tapir,

but was based on

the

same South American

species as Tapirus.

Since no

other generic

name seems

available for the Asiatic tapir ^I

propose

the following:

Acrocodiai gen. nov.

Type.

—

_Tapirusindicus Desmarest, from southeastern Asia, whichwill

now

stand asAcrocodiaindira (Desmarest).

Diagnosis.—^{Similar ingeneral to}Tapirus and Tapirella, but with ^dis- tinctivecharacters as follows: Braincase broad, elevatedand inflated an- teriorly,the antero-external surface of frontals facing outward,

and

not deeply channeled above the frontomaxillary suture ^{as in} Tapirus

and

Tapirella; lambdoid crest broadly U-shaped; maxillae not prolonged

upward

ⁱⁿ thin vertical platesembracing and supporting

mesethmoid

as in Tapirella, the ascending branches nearlystraight, with upper ^surface flattened,

and

above lachrymals becoming wedge-shaped

and

continued

upward

ⁱⁿ

same

_planeas frontals (ascendingbranches grooved or deeply channeled in Tapirus, the upper portions broadlyoverlapped

on

inner sideby descending ^processesofnasals); nasalseachwith adeep^circular

14—Proc.Biol. Soc.Wash., Vol.XXVI. 1913. 165)

66

Proceedings ^{of the} Biological Society of Washington.

pitnear middleofposterior border,

and

withoutthedescendingprocesses whichin Tapirus meet

and

overlap theascending branches ^ofmaxillae;

maxillaryfloor of orbital fossa risingnearlyto level of orbitalborder_{of jugal;}

posterior nares

much

_elongatedasviewedfrombelow,

and

_{openingdirectly}

downward

(shorter

and

directed

downward and backward

_inTapirus

and

Tapirella); maxillo-turbinals deeplyplicated,the internalfolds

and

alter- nating furrows of similar width (in Tapirus ^the furrows are separated byvery narrow trenchant _{ridges; in} Tapirella the maxillo-turbinals are smooth); ^transversedivisions of upper molars thick, the posterior walls less broadly excavated than ⁱⁿ Tapirus

and

_Tapirella; first upper pre- molar with a broad anterior cusp; third upper molar with outer cusps laterallycompressed and connected bya high trenchant_ridge,

much

as in Tapirella, instead of conical

and

_{separated by} a deep notch ^{as in} Tapirus.

Remarks.

— _Among

the

most

_important

and

_{readily apparent} cranial peculiaritiesdistinguishing the threegenera^ofexistingtapirs are thedif- feringarrangement^ofthe

bony

partssupporting the proboscis. In Acro- codia

and

Tapirella the nasals areflat,triangularbones withoutthe stout descending processes which in Tapirus

meet and

overlap the maxillae.

In Acrocodia

and

_Tapirusthemaxillae arenot developed

upward

^inthin

vertical platesembracing an ^{anteriorossifiedextensionofthe}

mesethmoid

as in Tapirella. Skulls of Acrocodia are thus distinguished

by

^{the ab-} sence of descending nasal processes

and

_{vertically ascending maxillary}

plates. In dentition the genera ^are

much

alike; Acrocodia in dental detadsseems nearertoTapirella thanto Tapirus.

The

three genera represent the surviving branches of a family

whose

former range^included

much

^of

Europe and

North America. _Tapirsappa- rently

became

extinctinEurope§^beforethe Pleistocene period,^as

none

of theirremains have been foundinthecaverns oralluvialdepositsⁱⁿwhich those of elephants, rhinoceroses,

and

hippopotamuses ^{occur in} abund- ance.

The

genus Tapirella ^is

known

_{only from} the _tropical parts ^of Middle America, from ^eastern

Panama

northward to southern Mexico.

Tapirus^terrestrisranges widely in tropicalSouth America

and

thegenus

is represented ⁱⁿ the high

Andes

_by T. rouliniiFischer, a species with remarkably^flattened braincase, but_agreeingin essential generic charac- terswith_{typicalTapirus.} In northwesternColombia

and

eastern

Panama

the distribution areasofTapirus

and

_Tapirellaprobably meetor overlap.

Acrocodia is

now

restricted to southeasternAsia

and

islands oftheEast Indies,

and

its isolation therefore is measured

by

^{the fullwidth of the}

PacificOcean.

*Wagler(Nat. Syst.Amphibien.p. 17,1830)quoting other authorssays: "Nomina

generica,quaeex graecavel latinalinguaradicumnonhabent,rejicienda sunt."

tProc.Zool. Soc.Lond.,p.884, 1867.

t'AKpos, high; /cuiSeta, head.

§Flower and_Lydekker,MammalsLivingandExtinct,p. 372, 1891.