|
Equine
Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, known from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They originated in North America, before dispersing to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping. Members of the subfamily are referred to as equines; the only extant equines are the horses, asses, and zebras of the genus ''Equus'', with two other genera '' Haringtonhippus'' and '' Hippidion'' becoming extinct at the beginning of the Holocene, around 11–12,000 years ago. The subfamily contains two tribes, the Equini and the Hipparionini, as well as two unplaced genera, ''Merychippus'' and ''Scaphohippus''. Members of the family ancestrally had three toes, while members of the tribe Equini from the Middle Miocene onwards developed monodactyl feet. Sister taxa * Anchitheriinae * Hyracotheriinae ''Hyracotherium'' ( ; " hyrax-like beast") is an extinct genus of small (about 60 cm in leng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equus (genus)
''Equus'' () is a genus of mammals in the perissodactyl family (biology), family Equidae, which includes wild horse, horses, Asinus, asses, and zebras. Within the Equidae, ''Equus'' is the only recognized Extant taxon, extant genus, comprising seven living species. Like Equidae more broadly, ''Equus'' has numerous extinct species known only from fossils. The genus originated in North America and dispersed into the Old World and South America during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. Equinae, Equines are odd-toed ungulates with slender legs, long heads, relatively long necks, manes (erect in most subspecies), and long tails. All species are herbivorous, and mostly grazers, with simpler digestive systems than Ruminantia, ruminants but able to subsist on lower-quality vegetation. While the domestic horse and donkey (along with their feral horse, feral descendants) exist worldwide, wild equine populations are limited to Africa and Asia. Wild equine social systems are in two forms; a H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebra''). Zebras share the genus '' Equus'' with horses and asses, the three groups being the only living members of the family Equidae. Zebra stripes come in different patterns, unique to each individual. Several theories have been proposed for the function of these patterns, with most evidence supporting them as a deterrent for biting flies. Zebras inhabit eastern and southern Africa and can be found in a variety of habitats such as savannahs, grasslands, woodlands, shrublands, and mountainous areas. Zebras are primarily grazers and can subsist on lower-quality vegetation. They are preyed on mainly by lions, and typically flee when threatened but also bite and kick. Zebra species differ in social behaviour, with plains and mountain z ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippidion
''Hippidion'' (meaning ''little horse'') is an extinct genus of equine that lived in South America from the Late Pliocene to the end of the Late Pleistocene (Lujanian), between 2.5 million and 11,000 years ago. They were one of two lineages of equines native to South America during the Pleistocene epoch, alongside '' Equus (Amerhippus) neogeus''. Taxonomy Evolution Although early ancient DNA analysis studies suggested a close relationship with the wild horse, ''Equus ferus,'' this was later shown to be incorrect, with more complete sequences finding ''Hippidion'' as an outgroup to all living equines and less closely related to living equines than the North American "New World stilt legged horse", '' Haringtonhippus francisci.'' Cladogram shown below: ''Hippidion'' is part of a distinct lineage of equines belonging to the tribe Equini that are suggested to have diverged from the ancestors of living equines of the genus '' Equus'' at least 6 million years ago. The earliest mem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wild Horse
The wild horse (''Equus ferus'') is a species of the genus Equus (genus), ''Equus'', which includes as subspecies the modern domestication of the horse, domesticated horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') as well as the Endangered species, endangered Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'', sometimes treated as a separate species i.e. ''Equus przewalskii''). The European wild horse, also known as the tarpan, that went extinct in the late 19th or early 20th century has previously been treated as the nominate subspecies of wild horse, ''Equus ferus ferus'', but more recent studies have cast doubt on whether tarpans were truly wild or if they actually were feral horses or hybrids.Tadeusz Jezierski, Zbigniew Jaworski: ''Das Polnische Konik. Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei Bd. 658'', Westarp Wissenschaften, Hohenwarsleben 2008, Other subspecies of ''Equus ferus'' may have existed and could have been the stock from which domesticated horses are descended. Przewalski's horse had reached t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merychippus
''Merychippus'' is an extinct proto-horse of the family Equidae that was endemic to North America during the Miocene, 15.97–5.33 million years ago. It had three toes on each foot and is the first horse known to have Grazing (behaviour), grazed. Discovery and naming ''Merychippus'' was named by Joseph Leidy (1856). Numerous authors assigned the type species – ''Merychippus insignis'' – to ''Protohippus'', but this is ignored. It was assigned to the Equidae by Leidy (1856) and Carroll (1988), and to the Equinae by MacFadden (1998) and Bravo-Cuevas and Ferrusquía-Villafranca (2006). Its name means "ruminant horse", but current evidence does not support ''Merychippus'' ruminating. Description ''Merychippus'' lived in groups. It was about tall and at the time it was the tallest equine to have existed. Its animal muzzle, muzzle was longer, deeper jaw, and eyes wider apart than any other horse-like animal to date. The brain was also much larger, making it smarter and more a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Przewalski's Horse
Przewalski's horse (''Equus ferus przewalskii'' or ''Equus przewalskii''), also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered wild horse originally native to the steppes of Central Asia. It is named after the Russian geographer and explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky. Once extinct in the wild, since the 1990s it has been Reintroduction, reintroduced to its native habitat in Mongolia in the Khustain Nuruu National Park, Takhin Tal Nature Reserve, and Khomiin Tal, as well as several other locales in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Several genetic characteristics of Przewalski's horse differ from what is seen in modern domestic horses, indicating neither is an ancestor of the other. For example, Przewalski's horse has 33 chromosome pairs, compared to 32 for the domestic horse. Their ancestral lineages split from a common ancestor between 160,000 and 38,000 years ago, long before the domestication of the horse. Przewalski's horse was long considered ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hipparionini
Hipparionini is a tribe of three-toed horses in the subfamily Equinae. They had body forms similar to modern equines, with high-crowned teeth. They first appeared in North America during the Early Miocene around 17 million years ago, before migrating into the Old World around 11.4-11.0 million years ago. The youngest species date to the Early Pleistocene, becoming extinct following the arrival of modern equines of the genus '' Equus'' to the Old World. Description Hipparionines varied widely in size, with the smallest species like ''Hipparion periafricanum'' having a body mass of only , considerably smaller than living equines, while the largest species had body masses over . Evolutionary history In North America, hipparionins were equally diverse to equins during the Middle Miocene but overtook them in species richness during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene. At the end of the Hemphillian, hipparionins severely declined in diversity. Ecology In the Old World hipparion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haringtonhippus
''Haringtonhippus'' is an extinct genus of equine from the Pleistocene of North America The genus is monospecific, consisting of the species ''H. francisci'', initially described in 1915 by Oliver Perry Hay as ''Equus francisci''. Members of the genus are often referred to as stilt-legged horses, in reference to their slender distal limb bones, in contrast with those of contemporary "stout legged" caballine true horses. ''Haringtonhippus'' fossils have only been discovered in North America. Specimens have been found from southern Mexico to southern South Dakota and in Alberta, Canada, at sites such as Gypsum Cave and Natural Trap Cave, as well as eastern Beringia in Yukon A later study found that ''Equus cedralensis'' from the Late Pleistocene of Mexico also belonged to this species. The earliest species of the lineage appeared in North America during the Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene, around 2 to 3 Ma. It became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 12,000 yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equinae
Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, known from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. They originated in North America, before dispersing to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping. Members of the subfamily are referred to as equines; the only extant equines are the horses, asses, and zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...s of the genus ''Equus'', with two other genera '' Haringtonhippus'' and '' Hippidion'' becoming extinct at the beginning of the Holocene, around 11–12,000 years ago. The subfamily contains two tribes, the Equini and the Hipparionini, as well as two unplaced genera, '' Merychippus'' and '' Scaphohippus''. Members of the family ancestrally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scaphohippus
''Scaphohippus'' is an extinct Miocene genus of equine, with two known species, known from fossils found in California, New Mexico, Montana, and Nebraska. History Both species in the genus were originally described as members of the wastebasket taxon '' Merychippus'' in the 1915 by John Merriam. The genus was described from specimens found in the Barstow Formation of southeast California. Specimens of ''Scaphohippus'' were medium-sized horses with hypsodont (high-crowned) teeth. Phylogenetic relationships The genus is closely related to '' Protohippus'' and '' Callippus''. In the Barstow Formation, the two species of ''Scaphohippus'' occur with only one other hypsodont horse, '' Acritohippus stylodontus''. ''Scaphohippus'' apparently developed on the Great Plains late in the Hemingfordian, about 17 to 16 million years ago and invaded the Great Basin at about 15 million years ago. The Great Plains and Great Basin were then isolated by tectonic barriers and ''Scaphohippus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equidae
Equidae (commonly known as the horse family) is the Taxonomy (biology), taxonomic Family (biology), family of Wild horse, horses and related animals, including Asinus, asses, zebra, zebras, and many extinct species known only from fossils. The family evolved more than 50 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch, from a small, multi-toed ungulate into larger, single-toed animals. All Extant taxon, extant species are in the genus ''Equus (genus), Equus'', which originated in North America. Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and several extinct families. It is more specifically grouped within the superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily Equoidea, the only other family being the extinct Palaeotheriidae. The term equid refers to any member of this family, including any equinae, equine. Evolution The oldest known fossils assigned to Equidae were found in North America, and date from the early Eocene epoch, 54 million years ago. Th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asinus
''Asinus'' is a subgenus of ''Equus (genus), Equus'' that encompasses several subspecies of the Equidae commonly known as wild asses, characterized by long ears, a lean, straight-backed build, lack of a true withers, a coarse mane and tail, and a reputation for considerable toughness and endurance. The common donkey is the best-known domesticated representative of the subgenus, with both domestication, domesticated and feral varieties. Among the wild ass species, several never-domesticated species live in Asia and Africa, with the extinct European wild ass species formerly inhabiting Europe. Taxonomy * Genus: ''Equus'' ** Subgenus: ''Asinus'' *** African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'' **** Nubian wild ass, ''Equus africanus africanus'' **** Somali wild ass, ''Equus africanus somaliensis'' **** Atlas wild ass, †''Equus africanus atlanticus'' (Extinction, extinct 1st millienium AD) **** Donkey, ''Equus africanus asinus'' ***Onager or Asiatic wild ass, ''Equus hemionus'' **** Mong ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
