Equinae

Equinae Temporal range: Early Miocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Domestic horse (Equus caballus) (Equini)
Skeleton of the three-toed equine † Hipparion (†Hipparionini)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Equidae
Subfamily:	Equinae Steinmann & Döderlein 1890
Tribes
Equini †Hipparionini †Protohippini † Scaphohippus † Protohippus † Calippus † Merychippus (non-monophyletic)

Equinae is a subfamily of the family Equidae, known from the Hemingfordian stage of the Early Miocene (16 million years ago) onwards. ^{[1] [2]} They originated in North America, before dispersing to every continent except Australia and Antarctica. They are thought to be a monophyletic grouping. ^[3] Members of the subfamily are referred to as equines; ^[4] 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 tree tribes, the extant Equini as well as the extinct Hipparionini and Protohippini. ^[5] Members of the family ancestrally had three toes, while members of the tribe Equini from the Middle Miocene onwards developed monodactyl feet. ^[6] They belong to the order Perissodactyla, meaning they are odd-toed animals.

Sister taxa

• Anchitheriinae
• Hyracotheriinae

References

1. "Paleobiology Database: Equinae basic info". Archived from the original on 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
2. Cantalapiedra, Juan L.; Prado, Jose Luis L.; Hernández Fernández, Manuel; Alberdi, Mª Teresa (10 February 2017). "Decoupled ecomorphological evolution and diversification in Neogene-Quaternary horses" . Science. 355 (6325): 627–630. Bibcode:2017Sci...355..627C. doi:10.1126/science.aag1772. PMID   28183978 . Retrieved 13 February 2019– via Escience.magazine.org.
3. B. J. MacFadden. 1998. Equidae. In C. M. Janis, K. M. Scott, and L. L. Jacobs (eds.), Evolution of Tertiary Mammals of North America
4. Cantalapiedra, Juan L.; Sanisdro, Oscar L.; Cantero, Enrique; Prado, Jose Luis; Alberdi, Mª Teresa Luis (4 August 2023). "Evolutionary Radiation of Equids". In Prins, Herbert H.; Gordon, Ian J. (eds.). The Equids, A Suite of Splendid Species. Fascinating Life Sciences. Springer. pp. 27–45. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-27144-1_2. ISBN   978-3-031-27143-4 – via www.springer.com.
5. Janis, Christine M. (2023), Casanovas-Vilar, Isaac; van den Hoek Ostende, Lars W.; Janis, Christine M.; Saarinen, Juha (eds.), "Asymmetry of Evolutionary Patterns Between New World and Old World Equids and Among New World Equine Tribes" , Evolution of Cenozoic Land Mammal Faunas and Ecosystems, Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 143–164, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-17491-9_10, ISBN   978-3-031-17490-2 , retrieved 2025-10-21
6. Janis, Christine M.; Bernor, Raymond L. (2019-04-12). "The Evolution of Equid Monodactyly: A Review Including a New Hypothesis". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00119 . hdl: 1983/ede09e37-96f7-4baf-aec5-1bb7766a04e7 . ISSN   2296-701X.