| Fossil range | Early Eocene - Miocene |
|---|---|
| Taxon | Helaletidae |
| Authority | Osborn, 1892 |
| Subdivision ranks | Genera |
| Subdivision |
The Helaletidae are an extinct family of tapiroid, closely related and likely ancestral to the true tapirs, which contain Protapirus and all descendants.[1] In alternative classifications, Helaletidae is treated as a subfamily within the Tapiridae, the Helaletinae.
Members of the family are defined by having less bilophodont cheek teeth compared to other tapiroids.[2]
References
- ^ Ruiz-García, M. (2012). "Phylogeography of the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) and the Central American tapir (Tapirus bairdii) and the molecular origins of the three South-American tapirs". Current Topics in Phylogenetics and Phylogeography of Terrestrial and Aquatic Systems. pp. 83–116.
- ^ Lucas, Spencer G. (2002). Chinese Fossil Vertebrates. Columbia University Press. p. 217. ISBN 9780231504614.