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Variation In The Modified First Metatarsal Of A Large Sample Of Tapirus Polkensis And The Functional Implications For Ceratomorphs., Patrick Lawrence Hawkins

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The Mio-Pliocene age Gray Fossil Site of northeastern Tennessee has the largest collection of tapir postcranial skeletons in the world. Though representing a single species, a few localized structures show high variability. This paper deals with variation of the first metatarsal, which in tapirs was reduced as an early adaptation for running and then retrofitted to serve as a special origin for flexors and adductors of the proximal phalanges. The first metatarsal connects the medial ankle with a posterior process of the third metatarsal in tapiroids. In Tapirus indicus, T. webbi, and 6 out of 31 T. polkensis …