Virtual Library
The Tapir Specialist Group Virtual Library is a repository for all published articles on the four species of tapirs. It contains more than eight hundred scientific articles, including not only extensive modern research over the last few decades, but also historical studies from throughout the mid and early 20th century as well as some of the earliest studies ever recorded on tapirs.
Library visitors may search by keyword for abstracts, or use the Advanced Search option for more specific searches, such as a particular author, year published or publication name.
The Virtual Library is a joint volunteer project of the Tapir Specialist Group (TSG) and the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT).
To browse all the articles, simply hit the Search button with no entry in the Search window, or use this link:
Have you written a scientific article on tapirs? We’d love to talk with you about including it in the Virtual Library.
Please contact Mathias Tobler for more information.
First Tapir Research – 1821
The oldest report in the Virtual Library is “An account of the skeleton of the dugong, two-horned rhinoceros, and tapir of Sumatra,” sent to England by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffle, Governor of Bencoolen, in March, 1821. The report describes the tapir in biological detail and includes elegant illustrations. The assertion is also made that the Sumatran rhino “has given rise to various reports of a true unicorn having at last been discovered in Africa.”
“The skull of the tapir from America, to show in what it differs from that of Sumatra.” – Sir Everard Home, 1821
