Equus lambei

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Yukon horse
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene
Equus ferus lambei.jpg
Reconstruction of the Yukon horse, based on a skull
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Subgenus: incertae sedis
Species:
E. lambei
Binomial name
Equus lambei
Hay, 1917

Equus lambei, commonly known as the Yukon horse or Yukon wild horse, [1] [2] is an extinct species of the genus Equus . Equus lambei ranged across North America until approximately 10,000 years ago. Based on recent examinations of the mtDNA of Equus lambei remains, scientists have concluded that E. lambei was probably much like the extinct tarpan, also known as the Eurasian wild horse, and the living Przewalski's horse. [3] [4] A partial carcass of Equus lambei is on display at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre in Whitehorse, Yukon. [5]

Contents

Description

Evidence from E. lambei mtDNA has shown that Equus lambei is a close relative of the modern wild horse, including the domestic horse, Equus caballus . [6] [7] [2] Controversy still surrounds E. lambei and the divergence of other similar extinct horse species. Through examinations of the bones and teeth of Equus lambei, many similarities can be seen with the modern horse Equus caballus. There is also a strong resemblance to E. lambei in the metapodials of E. caballus przewalskii and the phalanges of E. caballus lenensis. [2]

Metrical and morphological studies of horse teeth from the Bluefish Caves confirm the close similarity between Equus lambei with wild and domestic horses alive today. [3] E. lambei is a caballus horse, not an ass. [2] Among living horses, the Yukon horse most closely resembles the Przewalski's horse (Equus caballus przewalskii) from Mongolia [2] (once extinct in the wild [8] ) particularly in size and proportions. However, the upper foot bones (metapodials) of Equus lambei are slender compared to Przewalski's horse. [2] The bones of E. lambei also closely resemble the proximal phalanges of E. caballus lenensis, an extinct subspecies from the late Pleistocene of Siberia. [4]

Taxonomy

The taxonomy of Pleistocene North American horses has historically been confused, with many named species that probably represent synonyms of other named species. Equus lambei is one of the better supported species due to being based on diagnostic type material. Some authors have suggested that Equus lambei may be synonymous with the larger species Equus scotti, which may be in turn synonymous with Equus ferus. [9] However, North American and Eurasian horses split around 800,000 years ago following the dispersal of the latter out of North America, and have been largely genetically separate, with some interbreeding following the split. [10]

Natural history

Along with steppe bison ( Bison priscus ), woolly mammoths ( Mammuthus primigenius ) and caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ), Equus lambei was one of the most common ice-age species known to occupy the steppe-like grasslands of Eastern Beringia. [6] [7] E. lambei can be identified by numerous teeth and bones, and one partial carcass discovered in 1993. This E. lambei carcass yielded a radiocarbon date of 26,280 ± 210 years BP. [6] [3] The carcass consisted of a large part of the hide, a few tailbones, one lower leg, and some intestine. The hide retained some long blondish mane and tail hairs, coarse whitish upper body hairs, and dark brown hairs on the lower leg. [6] [3] [2] Large numbers of E. lambei teeth have been found in archaeological sites in the Yukon. [2] [4]

Based on the fossil records discovered in the Yukon, Equus lambei is believed to have been a small, slender, caballoid horse (about 4 ft (1.2 m) tall), with a broad skull and a relatively long protocones. [3] [4]

Social structure

Specifically, the records indicates that E. lambei had a multi-seasonal presence in the same region as other horse species, and a social structure similar to other wild horses. Family herds included four to ten females with their young and an adult alpha stallion. [3] [2] Other males were gathered in less socially stable bachelor herds, and consist from groups of two to four adults. [4] [11] These two herds did not often share territories. [12]

Habitat and diet

Both family and bachelor herds were non-selective grazers that forged mostly in a savannah-like regions. [12] These horses fed mostly on grasses, sedges, poppies, mustards, and other flowers such as buttercups and roses. Equus lambei's preferred environment is believed to have been a woodland with sparse clumps of trees. Overall, E. lambei is considered to have been resistant to varying climatic conditions, although most individuals of this species seemed to have died in the winter season. It is also likely that the Equus lambei was susceptible to wolf predation. [3] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equidae</span> Family of hoofed mammals

Equidae is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, asses, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. The family evolved around 50 million years ago from a small, multi-toed ungulate into larger, single-toed animals. All extant species are in the genus Equus, which originated in North America. Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and several extinct families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestication of the horse</span>

How and when horses became domesticated has been disputed. Although horses appeared in Paleolithic cave art as early as 30,000 BC, these were wild horses and were probably hunted for meat. The clearest evidence of early use of the horse as a means of transport is from chariot burials dated c. 2000 BC. However, an increasing amount of evidence began to support the hypothesis that horses were domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes in approximately 3500 BC. Discoveries in the context of the Botai culture had suggested that Botai settlements in the Akmola Province of Kazakhstan are the location of the earliest domestication of the horse. Warmouth et al. (2012) pointed to horses having been domesticated around 3000 BC in what is now Ukraine and Western Kazakhstan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Przewalski's horse</span> Subspecies of mammal

Przewalski's horse, also called the takhi, Mongolian wild horse or Dzungarian horse, is a rare and endangered 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 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarpan</span> Extinct subspecies of equines

The tarpan was a free-ranging horse subspecies of the Eurasian steppe from the 18th to the 20th century. It is generally unknown whether those horses represented genuine wild horses, feral domestic horses or hybrids. The last individual believed to be a tarpan died in captivity in the Russian Empire in 1909.

<i>Equus</i> (genus) Genus of mammals which includes horses, donkeys, and zebras

Equus is a genus of mammals in the family Equidae, which includes horses, asses, and zebras. Within the Equidae, Equus is the only recognized extant genus, comprising seven living species. Like Equidae more broadly, Equus has numerous extinct species known only from fossils. The genus most likely originated in North America and spread quickly to the Old World. Equines are odd-toed ungulates with slender legs, long heads, relatively long necks, manes, and long tails. All species are herbivorous, and mostly grazers, with simpler digestive systems than ruminants but able to subsist on lower-quality vegetation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kiang</span> Tibetan wild ass

The kiang is the largest of the Asinus subgenus. It is native to the Tibetan Plateau in Ladakh India, northern Pakistan, Tajikistan, China and northern Nepal. It inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands. Other common names for this species include Tibetan wild ass, khyang and gorkhar.

<i>Equus scotti</i> Extinct species of mammal

Equus scotti is an extinct species of horse native to Pleistocene North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild horse</span> Undomesticated four-footed mammal from the equine family

The wild horse is a species of the genus Equus, which includes as subspecies the modern domesticated horse as well as the endangered Przewalski's horse. 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.

Wild horse is a species of the genus Equus that includes domesticated and undomesticated subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European wild ass</span> Extinct species of mammal

The European wild ass or hydruntine is an extinct equine from the Middle Pleistocene to Late Holocene of Europe and West Asia, and possibly North Africa. It is a member of the subgenus Asinus, and closely related to the living Asiatic wild ass. The specific epithet, hydruntinus, means from Otranto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the horse in the Indian subcontinent</span>

The horse has been present in the Indian subcontinent from at least the middle of the second millennium BC, more than two millennia after its domestication in Central Asia. The earliest uncontroversial evidence of horse remains on the Indian Subcontinent date to the early Swat culture. While horse remains and related artifacts have been found in Late Harappan sites, indicating that horses may have been present at Late Harappan times, horses did not play an essential role in the Harappan civilisation, in contrast to the Vedic period. The importance of the horse for the Indo-Aryans is indicated by the Sanskrit word Ashva, "horse," which is often mentioned in the Vedas and Hindu scriptures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evolution of the horse</span>

The evolution of the horse, a mammal of the family Equidae, occurred over a geologic time scale of 50 million years, transforming the small, dog-sized, forest-dwelling Eohippus into the modern horse. Paleozoologists have been able to piece together a more complete outline of the evolutionary lineage of the modern horse than of any other animal. Much of this evolution took place in North America, where horses originated but became extinct about 10,000 years ago, before being reintroduced in the 15th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hagerman horse</span> Extinct species of mammal

Equus simplicidens, sometimes known as the Hagerman horse or the American zebra is an extinct species in the horse family native to North America during the Pliocene and Early-Late Pleistocene. It is one of the oldest and most primitive members of the genus Equus. Abundant remains of it were discovered in 1928 in Hagerman, Idaho. It is the state fossil of Idaho.

<i>Cormohipparion</i> Extinct genus of horse

Cormohipparion is an extinct genus of horse belonging to the tribe Hipparionini that lived in North America during the late Miocene to Pliocene. They grew up to 3 feet long.

<i>Haringtonhippus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

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.

The history of horse domestication has been subject to much debate, with various competing hypotheses over time about how domestication of the horse occurred. The main point of contention was whether the domestication of the horse occurred once in a single domestication event, or that the horse was domesticated independently multiple times. The debate was resolved at the beginning of the 21st century using DNA evidence that favored a mixed model in which domestication of the stallion most likely occurred only once, while wild mares of various regions were included in local domesticated herds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horses in the United States</span>

Horses have been an important component of American life and culture since before the founding of the nation. In 2008, there were an estimated 9.2 million horses in the United States, with 4.6 million citizens involved in businesses related to horses. There are an estimated 82,000 feral horses that roam freely in the wild in certain parts of the country, mostly in the Western United States.

<i>Equus stenonis</i> Extinct species of mammal

Equus stenonis is an extinct species of equine that lived in Western Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene epoch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallic horse</span> Prehistoric subspecies of horse

Gallic horse, also known as Equus caballus gallicus, is a prehistoric subspecies of Equus caballus that lived in the Upper Paleolithic. It first appeared in the Aurignacian period because of climatic changes and roamed the territory of present-day France during the Gravettian and up to the end of the Solutrean. Its fossils, dated from 40,000 to around 15,000 years BC, are close to those of Equus caballus germanicus and may not correspond to a valid subspecies. First described by François Prat in 1968, it is around 1.40 m (4.6 ft) tall and differs from Equus caballus germanicus mainly in its dentition and slightly smaller size.

References

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