Remains of Tapirus Brisson, 1762 (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Pleistocene of the southern North Sea

Tapirs are odd-toed ungulates with an extensive fossil record since the early Eocene. Here, we present their first records from the North Sea. An Early Pleistocene m1/m2 dex. of Tapirus arvernensis Croizet & Jobert, 1828 from the beach of Maasvlakte 2 and an m3 dex. of Tapirus sp. from the beach of Hoek van Holland (both near Rotterdam, The Netherlands) were recovered by citizen scientist fossil collectors from dredged sediments deposited on these beaches. The original provenance of the Maasvlakte 2 specimen is a sand dredging pit in the North Sea reaching into Pleistocene deposits, just offshore Rotterdam (coordinates c. 52.01, 3.92), while the original provenance of the Hoek van Holland specimen remains somewhat unclear, but must have been situated in the southern part of the North Sea. These tapir records and a specimen from the Westerschelde reported earlier suggest a previously reported and contested occurrence of Mammut borsoni (Hays, 1834) from “the Scheldt” in fact may originate from the Westerschelde. These records are among the most northern records of Tapirus and demonstrate the scientific value of these nourished beaches and the cooperation with the citizen scientist fossil collectors that collect (i.e. save them from destruction through exposure) fossils there.