''Equus alaskae'' was a
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the '' Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed ...
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
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 ...
, now extinct, that inhabited
North America.
Fossils found from
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...
to
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
have been identified as ''Equus alaskae,'' and it has been referred to as the most common equid in the southwest of North America.
The species was medium to small-sized, around the dimensions of a
cowpony.
See also
*
Evolution of the horse
* ''
Equus conversidens
''Equus conversidens'', or the Mexican horse, is a dubious Pleistocene species of horse, now extinct, that inhabited North America.
The holotype of ''Equus conversidens'', a partial palate, was unearthed in Pleistocene deposits northeast of Mex ...
''
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21358833
Pleistocene horses
Neogene mammals of North America
Pleistocene species extinctions
Equus (genus)
Extinct animals of the United States
Quaternary animals of North America
Prehistoric mammals of North America
Fossil taxa described in 1989