Equus occidentalis

Equus occidentalis
Skeleton in Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Species: E. occidentalis
Binomial name
Equus occidentalis
Owen, 1863
Skeleton from the La Brea tar pits

Equus occidentalis or the Western horse, was a Pleistocene species of horse, now extinct, that inhabited North America.[1]

This species represents the larger end of the prehistoric horse spectrum - it was about the size of a mustang, weighing up to 519 kg (1144 lbs).[2] It was a stoutly built animal and resembled the extinct quagga or the modern plains zebra, although it was not a close relative to either of these.

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. "Turn your head and roar: can diagnosing disease in fossils shed light on modern maladies? - Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2017-12-10.
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