Discover the most complete juvenile tapir skeleton in Europe at Camp dels Ninots, Spain
The four-million-year-old find reinforces one of the most important collections of fossil tapirs in the world and allows researchers to reconstruct the different stages of growth of this extinct species
The excavation works currently taking place at the Camp dels Ninots fossil site in Girona northeastern Spain, have led to the recovery of the complete skeleton of a juvenile tapir approximately one year old that lived nearly four million years ago. Largely preserved in anatomical connection, the specimen represents the most complete juvenile skeleton known in Europe and offers an exceptional scientific opportunity to gain deeper insight into the growth and development of European Pliocene tapirs.
The discovery was made during the scheduled excavation campaign led by IPHES-CERCA at Camp dels Ninots, one of Europe’s most excepcional Pliocene fossil sites. With this new specimen, Camp dels Ninots brings the total number of tapir individuals recovered so far to seven, corresponding to different ages and sexes. This collection expands one of the most important known worldwide, as few sites have provided such a high number of complete skeletons belonging to the same species , and even fewer corresponding to different stages of development.
This establishes the site as the leading international benchmark for studying Tapirus arvernensis, one of the last tapir species to inhabit Europe. The adult specimens recovered so far indicate they were large, robust-bodied herbivores with dimensions comparable to modern tapirs, featuring an anatomy similar to the animals that currently inhabit the rainforests of America and Southeast Asia.
The presence of adult, juvenile, and now very young individuals makes it possible to begin reconstructing the full life cycle of this population with an unusual level of detail. "The recovery of such a young individual is extremely rare in the fossil record. This specimen allows us to delve into aspects that were practically unknown until now, such as skeletal development, growth rate, or the biology of the earliest life stages of European Pliocene tapirs. Furthermore, having adults, juveniles, and now a younger juvenile at the site provides an exceptional opportunity to reconstruct how this species grew throughout its life," explains Dr. Bruno Gómez de Soler, researcher at IPHES-CERCA and co-director of the excavations.
"The presence of adult, juvenile, and now younger juvenile specimens at Camp dels Ninots presents us with an extraordinarily unusual record. We are not recovering isolated individuals, but rather the different stages of life of the same extinct species. This allows us to begin reconstructing aspects of its biology, development, and variability with a precision that is very difficult to achieve in the fossil record. Each new specimen recovered further strengthens the exceptional value of this unique collection," highlights Dr. Gerard Campeny, researcher at IPHES-CERCA and co-director of the excavations.
An excavation still underway
This year's campaign will end on June 18 and brings together around sixteen professionals from disciplines such as geology, paleontology, biology, archaeology, and conservation and restoration, as well as students from the Màster en Arqueologia del Quaternari i Evolució Humana at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili.
The fieldwork has consisted of completely uncovering the skeleton, performing in situ conservation and restoration tasks, and exhaustively documenting it using three-dimensional digitization techniques and high-precision spatial recording. In parallel, sedimentological samples are being collected to reconstruct in detail the environmental conditions and processes that favored the animal's fossilization. Once this phase is completed, a delicate extraction operation lasting approximately three days will begin to transfer the fossil to the IPHES-CERCA laboratories.
A unique collection inside an ancient volcanic lake
Research conducted over recent years has determined that the tapirs of Camp dels Ninots shared a close evolutionary relationship with modern Asian tapirs, suggesting a probable Asian origin for this lineage. Paleobotanical data indicate that an extensive laurisilva (a dense, humid subtropical forest) grew around the ancient volcanic lake, providing an especially favorable habitat for these large herbivores, which lived closely linked to water bodies.
While tapir remains appear fragmented and scattered in most European sites, the skeletons at Camp dels Ninots are preserved whole or nearly complete, articulated, and in an exceptional state of preservation. The site is located inside a maar-type volcano formed during the Pliocene in the Girona region, where the crater transformed into a lake that accumulated sediments under extraordinarily favorable conditions.
"Camp dels Ninots functions as a genuine time capsule. The geological and chemical conditions of the volcanic paleolake have allowed entire skeletons to be preserved with a level of detail that is highly unusual in paleontology," explains Dr. Oriol Oms, from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and head of the geological research line. The near-complete preservation and the absence of evidence of alteration by large scavengers suggest that some animals might have died suddenly around the lake , possibly related to gas emissions associated with volcanic activity.
With this new discovery, Camp dels Ninots consolidates its position as one of the main European benchmarks for the study of Pliocene continental ecosystems. The recovery of this juvenile tapir expands a collection that is unique on an international scale and opens a new window into understanding the earliest life stages of a species that disappeared millions of years ago.
Funding sources:
This research has been supported by the Departament de Cultura de la Generalitat de Catalunya through the four-year research project (CLT009/22/000043) , the research group 2021 SGR 01238 (AGAUR) , as well as the Ajuntament de Caldes de Malavella. It has also received funding from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades of the Government of Spain through projects PID2024-157622NB-I00 and PID2024-156295NB-I00 , and from the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (2023-URV-01238). Furthermore, this research has been backed by the "María de Maeztu" excellence accreditation (CEX2024-01485-M) , funded by the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades and managed by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI).