Extinct species of equine native to South America
Equus neogeus
is an extinct species of equine native to South America during the
Pleistocene
. It was formerly thought to be several distinct species within the subgenus
Amerhippus
, but was later shown to be a single morphologically variable species. It is thought to be closely related to true horses.
Taxonomy
[
edit
]
While they have formerly been referred to as belonging to 5 separate species, this has been revised down into three,
[1]
and more recently a single, morphologically variable species
Equus neogeus
.
[2]
[3]
Some authors continue to recognise three species, restricting
Equus neogeus
to large-sized individuals spanning from the
Pampas
to
Northeast Brazil
, while separating the smaller
Equus andium
for populations in the northern-central Andes, and
Equus insulatus
for medium-sized animals spanning from Bolivia to Venezuela. These authors suggest that
E. insulatus
was the ancestor of the other species.
[4]
Historically, South American
Equus
species were placed in the subgenus
Amerhippus
, but this has subsequently been questioned.
[4]
A 2008 study of
mitochondrial DNA
fragments of a specimen of
E. neogeus
found it to be nested within mitochondrial lineages of
E. caballus
,
[5]
however, later studies suggested that this result required more specimens to be analysed for confirmation.
[6]
A close relationship to caballine horses was also supported by a 2019 morphological analysis study.
[7]
Description
[
edit
]
Life restoration
Equus neogeus
measured roughly 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall and weighed approximately 400 kg (880 lb).
[8]
Distribution
[
edit
]
They were one of two groups of equines in South America, alongside
Hippidion
.
[9]
Fossils have been recovered from the
Tarija Formation
of
Bolivia
, the
Serrania del Perija
in
Venezuela
, the
Chiu-Chiu Formation
of
Chile
, the
Sabana Formation
of the
Bogota savanna
in
Colombia
,
[10]
and from various locations in
Ecuador
.
[8]
Equus
first appeared in South America during the late
Early Pleistocene
-earliest
Middle Pleistocene
, around 1 to 0.8 million years ago, based on remains found near
Tarija
, Bolivia.
[11]
Paleobiology
[
edit
]
A 2019 study suggested that
Equus neogeus
specimens from Uruguay were primarily
grazers
that fed on both
C4
and
C3
grasses in
prairies
and open woodlands.
[12]
Extinction
[
edit
]
Equus neogeus
became extinct at the end of the Late Pleistocene as part of the
end-Pleistocene extinctions
, along with the vast majority of other large mammals in South America.
[13]
The youngest remains date to approximately 11,700 years
Before Present
(BP), in Rio Quequen Salado, in the southwest of
Buenos Aires
province, Argentina.
[11]
The extinctions followed human arrival to the Americas, and several sites show evidence of human interaction with
Equus neogeus,
which may have been a factor in its extinction.
[14]
At the Paso Otero 5 site in the Pampas of northeast Argentina,
Fishtail points
are associated with burned bones of
Equus neogeus
and other extinct megafauna. The bones appear to have been deliberately burned as a source of fuel. Due to the poor preservation of the bones there is no clear evidence of human modification.
[15]
At the Taguatagua 3 in central Chile, dating to around 12,440?12,550 years BP, a first
phalanx
of
Equus
was found near a hearth, alongside the remains of other megafuna, including the much more abundant remains of
gomphotheres
(elephant relatives).
[16]
At the Arroyo Seco 2 site in the Argentinian Pampas, which has multiple episodes of human activity dating to between 14,782?11,142 cal yr BP remains of
Equus neogeus
(alongside those of other megafauna) are associated with human artifacts and exhibit fracture marks indicative of butchery.
[14]
[17]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Prado, J. L., and Alberdi, M. T. (2017).
Fossil Horses of South America
. Springer International Publishing, 150
- ^
Machado, Helena; Grillo, Orlando; Scott, Eric; Avilla, Leonardo (September 2018).
"Following the Footsteps of the South American Equus: Are Autopodia Taxonomically Informative?"
.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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- ^
Machado, Helena; Avilla, Leonardo (2019-07-03).
"The Diversity of South American Equus: Did Size Really Matter?"
.
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.
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: 235.
doi
:
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.
ISSN
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- ^
a
b
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.
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- ^
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