Equinae is a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Equidae, which have lived worldwide (except

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

) from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards.Paleobiology Database: Equinae basic info.
/ref> They are thought to be a

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gr ...

grouping.B. J. MacFadden. 1998. Equidae. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America Members of the subfamily are referred to as equines; the only extant equines are the

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...

ass Ass most commonly refers to: * Buttocks (in informal American English) * Donkey or ass, ''Equus africanus asinus'' **any other member of the subgenus ''Asinus'' Ass or ASS may also refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Ass'' (album), 1973 albu ...

es, and zebras of the genus ''Equus''. The subfamily contains two tribes, the Equini and the Hipparionini, as well as two unplaced genera, '' Merychippus'' and '' Scaphohippus''.

Sister taxa

* Anchitheriinae * Hyracotheriinae

References

Miocene horses Pliocene odd-toed ungulates Pleistocene horses Equidae Extant Miocene first appearances {{horse-stub