Miotapirus marslandensis
Known as "living fossils" for the basic reason that tapirs have undergone little change since the first perrisodactyl ancestors appeared in the Eocene. From teeth to toes the generalized Tapir skeleton could belong to any one of several Eocene families; horses, rhinos Titanotheres. The main derived character of tapirs being the development of the flexible proboscis in later forms.
Because Tapirs today and presumably in the past are basically solitary forest dwellers fossil remains are scarce and fragmentary because forest environments do not lend themselves to fossilization because of high moisture and microbial activity which breaks things down quickly.
Modern tapirs are fond of water and are never found far from it. four species are known today, all are quite rare.
Fossils of Miotapirus have not been common, but a road construction project through the Wildcat Hills of western Nebraska revealed a treasure trove of fossils representing a unique flora and fauna deposited by a river that flowed through sub tropical jungle 20 million years ago. Many new specimens of Miotapirus were found.