''Equus ovodovi'' is an extinct species of
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 ...
known from the
Late Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division ...
and
Holocene
The Holocene () is the current geologic time scale, geological epoch, beginning approximately 11,700 years ago. It follows the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene to ...
of
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
.
Description
''Equus ovodovi'' was slightly larger than the
Asiatic wild ass
The onager (, ) (''Equus hemionus''), also known as hemione or Asiatic wild ass, is a species of the family Equidae native to Asia. A member of the subgenus ''Asinus'', the onager was described and given its binomial name by German zoologist Pe ...
,
with one individual from Proskurjakov cave having an estimated body mass of around .
''E. ovodovi'' can be distinguished from wild asses based on its larger and more robust limb bones.
Ecology
Isotopic analysis of specimens from the Holocene of China suggests a preference for
C4 plants.
Evolution and extinction
''Equus ovodovi'' has been suggested to be the last surviving member of the subgenus ''Sussemionus'', which first appeared in North America over 2 million years ago, and was formerly present across Afro-Eurasia.
Some later studies questioned its relationship to the subgenus ''Sussemionus''. Remains are known spanning from southern
Western Siberia
Western Siberia or West Siberia ( rus, Западная Сибирь, p=ˈzapədnəjə sʲɪˈbʲirʲ; , ) is a region in North Asia. It is part of the wider region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russia, Russian Federation, with a Sout ...
to
Northern China
Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture.
Extent
The Qinling, Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone ...
, with the youngest remains dating to around 3900 and 3400 years ago (~1900 and 1400 BC) in Mongolia and Northern China, respectively.
Genetic evidence suggests that it was more closely related to
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 and
asses
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 alb ...
than to horses. Initial genetic analysis based on the
mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...
found the exact relationship to be uncertain, but analysis of the full nuclear genome suggests that zebras and asses are more closely related to each other than either are to ''E. ovodovi,'' though there had been
gene flow
In population genetics, gene flow (also known as migration and allele flow) is the transfer of genetic variation, genetic material from one population to another. If the rate of gene flow is high enough, then two populations will have equivalent ...
into the ''Equus ovodovi'' lineage from both the last common ancestor of zebras and asses and the last common ancestor of zebras, as well as gene flow from the ''Equus ovodovi'' lineage into the last common ancestor of asses.
Cladogram after Cai et al. 2022:
Its genetic diversity progressively declined to very low levels over the course of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene prior to its extinction.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q21361618
Equus (genus)