Granastrapotherium (SciiFii)

The greater tapiphant (Granastrapotherium magnificens) is a species of South American mammal which vaguely resembles a cross between a small elephant and a very large tapir. This peculiar-looking animal is unrelated to elephants or tapirs, and is instead related to other South American ungulates such as Astrapotherium, in a family known as the Astrapotheriidae, which in turn belongs to an order called the Astrapotheria, which includes tapiphants and relatives. The greater tapiphant originally lived in what is now Colombia during the Early to Middle Miocene as an extinct species, Granastrapotherium snorki, and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and introduced to the modern swamps, mangrooves, and shorelines on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of South America to help boost biodiversity. The greater tapiphant is much larger than the common tapihant (Astrapotherium maxomus), growing to be almost twice the size of the common tapiphant and weigh around 2.5 and 3.5 tonnes. It has small plantigrade feet, and the hind limbs are significantly weaker than the fore limbs. Its four canine teeth are elongated to form tusks, which are large and horizontal, resembling less like those of hippos and more like the tusks of some ancient relatives of elephants (such as Palaeomastodon), although the defences in elephants and their relatives are not formed by the canines but the incisors. Similarly, the large nostrils are extremely withdrawn on the skull, so the greater tapiphants have larger trunks than other astrapotheres, and like elephants, this animal uses its muscular proboscis together with its tusks to cut leaves off trees and shrubs. The conservation status of the greater tapiphant is Vulnerable due to some habitat loss and historic poaching by humans, however, the conservationists are working hard to protect this species and its natural habitats, as well as end poaching to save threatened and endangered species.
Category:Animals
Category:SciiFii
Category:Mammals
Category:Cenozoic Park