| Equus lambei | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukarya |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Equidae |
| Genus: | Equus |
| Species: | †Equus lambei Hay, 1917 |
Equus lambei (common names include Yukon horse, Yukon wild ass, and Yukon wild horse[1]) is an extinct species of the genus Equus. Equus lambei ranged across North America until approximately 10,000 years ago. It probably was much like the wild living asses of today.[citation needed]
A partial carcass of Equus lambei is on display at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre in Whitehorse, Yukon.[1]
Classification
A close relative of both modern horses and modern asses, Equus lambei has been considered to be any of these:
- The same species as the domestic donkey or the African Wild Ass.
- A species of the subgenus Asinus of the genus Equus.[citation needed]
- The same species as the domestic horse, Equus caballus.[2][3][4][citation needed]
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 from steppe-like grasslands of Eastern Beringia.[4][3] This species is known from numerous teeth and bones, and one partial carcass discovered in 1993, that yielded a radiocarbon date of 26,280 ± 210 years BP.[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.[3]
Large numbers of teeth of this species have been found in archaeological sites in the region.
References
- ^ C. R. Harington with Donna Naughton, ed (2003). Annotated Bibliography of Quaternary Vertebrates of Northern North America: With Radiocarbon Dates. University of Toronto Press. http://books.google.com/books?id=BQtyg5m1zQkC&pg=PA73&dq=%22yukon+wild+ass%22. pages 73, 99
- ^ http://yukon.taiga.net/vuntutrda/palaeon/notes.htm
- ^ a b c d C.R. Harington (August, 2002). "Yukon Horse". Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre. http://beringia.com/research/horse.html. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- ^ a b "Yukon Horse". Natural History Notebooks. Canadian Museum of Nature. 2009.01.20. http://www.nature.ca/notebooks/english/yukass.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
- Ann Forstén, 1992. Mitochondrial-DNA timetable and the evolution of Equus: Comparison of molecular and paleontological evidence. Ann. Zool. Fennici 28: 301-309.
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