Wild horse
Wild horse | |
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Top left: Equus ferus przewalskii (Przewalski's horse)Below left: | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | Equidae |
Genus: | Equus |
Subgenus: | Equus
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Species: | E. ferus
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Binomial name | |
Equus ferus Boddaert, 1785
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Subspecies | |
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The wild horse (Equus ferus) is a
Other subspecies of Equus ferus may have existed and could have been the stock from which domesticated horses are descended.
The term "wild horse" is also used colloquially in reference to free-roaming herds of feral horses; for example, the mustang in the United States,[15] and the brumby in Australia.[16] These feral horses are untamed members of the domestic horse (Equus caballus), not to be confused with the truly "wild" horse subspecies extant into modern times.
Distribution
Evidence supports E. ferus as having evolved in
By the latest Pleistocene or early
Ecology
In general, wild horses are
Subspecies and their history
E. ferus has had several subspecies, those of which survived into modern times are:[25]
- The domesticated horse (Equus ferus caballus).
- The Eurasian wild horse (Equus ferus ferus), incorrectly listed as Equus caballus ferus in MSW 3; originally considered synonymous with the tarpan, though recent research has cast doubt on this. Horses identified as tarpans were found in Europe and western Asia before the last surviving animals —possibly hybrids by that time — became effectively extinct in the late 19th century. The last specimen died in 1909 whilst in captivity in an estate in Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire.
- Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii), incorrectly listed as Equus caballus przewalskii in MSW 3; also known as the Mongolian wild horse or takhi, it is native to Central Asia and the Gobi Desert. It is sometimes considered its own species, Equus przewalskii.
The latter two are the only never-domesticated "wild" groups that survived into historic times. However, other subspecies of Equus ferus may have existed.[7]
In the
Evolutionary history and taxonomy
The horse family
Currently, three subspecies that lived during recorded human history are recognized.[25] One subspecies is the widespread domestic horse (Equus ferus caballus),[25] as well as two wild subspecies: the recently extinct European wild horse (E. f. ferus) and the endangered Przewalski's horse (E. f. przewalskii).[10][11][25]
Genetically, the pre-domestication horse, E. ferus, and the domesticated horse, E. caballus, form a single homogeneous group (clade) and are genetically indistinguishable from each other.[29][34][35][36] The genetic variation within this clade shows only a limited regional variation, with the notable exception of Przewalski's horse.[29][34][35][36] Przewalski's horse has several unique genetic differences that distinguish it from the other subspecies, including 66 instead of 64 chromosomes,[10][37] unique Y-chromosome gene haplotypes,[38] and unique mtDNA haplotypes.[39][40]
Besides genetic differences, osteological evidence from across the Eurasian wild horse range, based on cranial and metacarpal differences, indicates the presence of only two subspecies in postglacial times, the tarpan and Przewalski's horse.[7][41]
Scientific naming of the species
In some sources including MSW 3 (2005), the domesticated and wild horses were considered a single species, with the valid scientific name for such a single horse species being Equus ferus,[42] although MSW erroneously used E. caballus for this (enlarged) taxon on account of a mis-interpretation of the then-recent ICZN ruling on the matter,[43] refer Groves & Grubb, 2011.[44] The wild tarpan subspecies is E. f. ferus, Przewalski's horse is E. f. przewalskii, while the domesticated horse is nowadays normally (but not exclusively) treated as a separate species E. caballus. The rules for the scientific naming of animal species are determined in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, which stipulates that the oldest available valid scientific name is used to name the species.[45] Previously, when taxonomists considered domesticated and wild horse two subspecies of the same species, the valid scientific name was Equus caballus Linnaeus 1758,[46] with the subspecies labeled E. c. caballus (domesticated horse), E. c. ferus Boddaert, 1785 (tarpan) and E. c. przewalskii Poliakov, 1881 (Przewalski's horse).[47] However, in 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature decided that the scientific names of the wild species have priority over the scientific names of domesticated species, therefore mandating the use of Equus ferus for both the wild and the domesticated horse if the two taxa are considered conspecific.[48]
Przewalski's horse
In 2018, a DNA study revealed that the horses found associated with the Botai culture were Przewalski's horses, raising the question of whether these animals were an isolated population, if extant Przewalski horses today represent feral descendants, or if the domestication attempt at Botai failed. [54] A 2021 study noted that arrowheads were found in conjunction with some Botai horse remains, suggesting these horses were hunted, rather than domesticated, and thus the question remains unresolved.[55]
Przewalski's horse is still found today, though it is an endangered species and for a time was considered extinct in the wild.[40] Roughly 2000 Przewalski's horses are in zoos around the world.[56] A small breeding population has been reintroduced in Mongolia.[57][58] As of 2005, a cooperative venture between the Zoological Society of London and Mongolian scientists has resulted in a population of 248 animals in the wild.[59]
Przewalski's horse has some biological differences from the domestic
Feral horses
Horses that live in an untamed state but have ancestors that have been
In 1995, British and French explorers encountered a new population of horses in the
See also
References
Citations
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- ^ a b c Colin Groves, 1986, "The taxonomy, distribution, and adaptations of recent Equids", In Richard H. Meadow and Hans-Peter Uerpmann, eds., Equids in the Ancient World, volume I, pp. 11-65, Wiesbaden: Ludwig Reichert Verlag.
- ^ Goldman, Jason G. "10 Things You Didn't Know About Przewalski's Horses". Scientific American Blog Network.
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- ^ "The Brumbies – Australian Wild Horses › Wild Horses and Mustangs .com". www.wildhorsesandmustangs.com.
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- ^ Kirkpatrick, Jay F.; July 2008, Patricia M. Fazio 24 (24 July 2008). "The Surprising History of America's Wild Horses". livescience.com. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
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- ^ Kateryna Slivinska; Grzegorz Kopij (2011). "Diet of the Przewalski's horse Equus przewalskii in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone" (PDF). Polish Journal of Ecology. 59 (4): 841–847. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
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- ^ Philipps, Dave (12 May 2018). "Let Mountain Lions Eat Horses". The New York Times.
- ^ "Brown Hyena Research Project - The Spotted Hyena". 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 8 August 2013.
- ^ a b c d Don E. Wilson; DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. (2005). "Equus caballus". Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
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- ^ a b "Equus ferus ssp. przewalskii (Asian Wild Horse, Mongolian Wild Horse, Przewalski's Horse)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
- ^ Eisenmann, Vera (1998). "Quaternary Horses: possible candidates to domestication". The Horse: its domestication, diffusion and role in past communities. Proceedings of the XIII International Congress of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Sciences, Forli, Italia, 8–14 September 1996. Vol. 1. ABACO Edizioni. pp. 27–36.
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- ^ International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (2003). "Usage of 17 specific names based on wild species which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic animals (Lepidoptera, Osteichthyes, Mammalia): conserved. Opinion 2027 (Case 3010)". Bull. Zool. Nomencl. 60 (1): 81–84.
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- ^ Linnaeus, Carolus (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae :secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Laurentii Salvii). p. 73. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ Bunzel-Drüke, Margret. "Ecological substitutes for Wild horse and Aurochs" (PDF). Natur- und Kulturlandschaft, Höxter/Jena 2001, Band 4: 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
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- ^ Gallagher, Paige Williams , Sean. "The Remarkable Comeback of Przewalski's Horse". Smithsonian.
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Bibliography
- Equid Specialist Group 1996. Equus ferus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2006 from [1][permanent dead link].
- Moelman, P.D. 2002. Equids. Zebras, Asses and Horses. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Equid Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
- Ronald M. Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World (6th ed.), Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, LCCN 98023686