Equus occidentalis

Equus occidentalis Temporal range: Pleistocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Skeleton in Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Equidae
Genus:	Equus
Species:	†E. occidentalis
Binomial name
†Equus occidentalis Leidy, 1865

Skeleton from the La Brea tar pits

Equus occidentalis (commonly known as the western horse) is an extinct species of wild horse that once inhabited North America, specifically the Southwestern United States, during the Pleistocene epoch. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} It was first described from three teeth with insufficient diagnostic characters, one even being suggested to be a separate taxon related to the American Zebra, leading some researchers to consider it a nomen dubium, though this taxonomic debate is yet to be fully resolved. ^{[5] [6]}

E. occidentalis was about the same size as the modern Arabian horse, measuring up to 1.47 metres (4.8 ft) in shoulder height. It was morphologically and proportionally similar to the modern day zebra. ^[7]

References

1. Klide, A. M. (1989). "Overriding vertebral spinous processes in the extinct horse, Equus occidentalis". American Journal of Veterinary Research. 50 (4): 592–593. PMID   2712429.
2. Colbert, Edwin H. (1973). "Further Evidence concerning the Presence of Horse at Ventana Cave" . Kiva. 39 (1): 25–33. doi:10.1080/00231940.1973.11757782. ISSN   0023-1940. JSTOR   30247142.
3. Kutcher, Maree Michelle; Scott, Eric (2016). "First Record of Equus occidentalis from Orange County, California, with Implications for the Late Pleistocene Distribution of Equus in the American Southwest" . Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Geological Society of America. doi:10.1130/abs/2016am-282407.
4. "Equus occidentalis". www.utep.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-21.
5. Springer, K.; Scott, E.; Sagebiel, J.C.; Murray, L.K. (2010). "The Diamond Valley Lake local fauna: late Pleistocene vertebrates from inland southern California". Quaternary International. 217 (1–2): 256–265. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2009.10.041.
6. Brown, K.E.; Akersten, W.A.; Scott, E. (2015). "Equus occidentalis Leidy from "Asphalto," Kern County, California". In Harris, J.M. (ed.). La Brea and Beyond: The Paleontology of Asphalt-Preserved Biotas. Los Angeles, California: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. pp. 81–89.
7. Willoughby, D.P. (1948). "A Statistical Study of the Metapodials of Equus occidentalis Leidy" (PDF). Bulletin of Southern Carolina Academy of Sciences. 47 (3): 84–94.