Giant Tapir

This is a jaw of the giant tapir, Tapirus haysi, from the Early Pleistocene. This individual had a giant problem in its jaw. The jaw is broken at a weak point caused by an infection. That infection is evidenced by the inflation and altered texture of the bone near the break. Note also that the first molar (m1) had been lost in life, and the alveolus was filling in with cancellous bone.