1.3" Tapir Tapirus Veroensis Fossil Tooth Pleistocene Age Withlacoochee River FL Display

Location: Withlacoochee River, Florida, United States

Weight: 0.4 Ounces

Dimensions: 1.3 Inches Long, 0.5 Inches Wide, 0.4 Inches Thick

Comes with a Free Display.

The Item pictured is the one you will receive.

Pleistocene Age 1 - 1.7 Million Years old.

The Tapirus veroensis, commonly known as the Vero tapir, was an extinct species of tapir that lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch, also called the Ice Age. This period, lasting from roughly 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago, was marked by dramatic glacial cycles and the widespread presence of megafauna across the continent.

Fossils of Tapirus veroensis have been discovered at several sites in the southeastern United States, particularly in Florida. A notable location is the Withlacoochee River region. During the Ice Age, Florida’s landscape looked very different from today. Lower sea levels exposed large stretches of the continental shelf, forming expansive coastal plains and reshaping river systems. Rivers like the Withlacoochee would have supported rich and diverse ecosystems, providing water and vegetation for many prehistoric animals, including the Vero tapir.

The Vero tapir was a large, herbivorous mammal, likely resembling modern tapirs in appearance and behavior, with a short, flexible snout. Its diet consisted primarily of soft vegetation, leaves, and fruits, which were abundant in Florida’s subtropical and temperate Ice Age environments. The presence of Tapirus veroensis in the Withlacoochee River area suggests that this region offered suitable habitat, with ample water and food resources. The extinction of the Vero tapir, along with many other North American megafauna, is thought to have been caused by a combination of climate changes at the end of the Ice Age and pressures from human hunting.