The equinaceae , a family of the order Chistea , was once very prosperous and diverse , with only one genus of horses remaining , and only 7 species remain. However, they are still the most numerous, widely distributed and most familiar animals in the order Odd-hoofed.
An extinct three-toed horse
Imagine the diagram
Prehistoric equine was widely distributed in the Americas, Eurasia and Africa, where the Americas have long been regarded as the evolutionary center of the family. Modern equine is found in Eurasia and Africa, with members including horses, donkeys and zebras, and most wild species are endangered.
Since the Pleistocene, modern horses and humans have lived together in Eurasia, and portraits of horses appear in European cave paintings about 40,000 years ago, but the earliest archaeological evidence of human domestication of horses comes from human sites on the Iberian Peninsula and the steppes of Central Asia 4,500 years ago.
Studies have suggested that domestic horses most likely originated in the steppes of Eurasia, which is today Ukraine and western Kazakhstan, and continued to cross breed with wild horses as herds expanded.
Researchers have long disputed the early domestication of horses: archaeological evidence suggests that horses were domesticated in the steppes of western Eurasia, while genetic evidence from modern mares points to multiple domestication events spanning vast geographic areas. Vera Warmuth and colleagues used genetic data from more than 300 horses in northern Eurasia to model the origin and spread of horse domestication. The authors reconstructed the history of population statistics for the extinct wild ancestor of the domestic horse, the wild ancestor wild horse (equus ferus), and proposed that the wild horse expanded out of eastern Eurasia about 16,000 years ago. Further analysis suggests to the authors that horse domestication originated in the western Eurasian steppes about 6,000 years ago, and that domesticated herds of horses were constantly supplemented by wild horses as Eurasia expanded.
The authors say the findings confirm that horse domestication originated in western Eurasia and provide evidence of the widespread presence of wild horses entering the domestic horse herd, thus combining the very different evidence from previous studies and resolving conflicting explanations.
European Mustang
equus ferus
The European wild horse, also known as the Taiban wild horse, is an extinct wild horse. The last wild European wild horse died in Ukraine in 1876, and the last European wild horse was killed in a Russian zoo in 1909. Another name, "Taiban", is its Turkic name.
The identity of the European Mustang is questionable
Asian wild horse
equus przewalskii
The Przewalski's wild horse, found in the Kobdo Basin in western Mongolia and the eastern part of the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang, China (hence the name Mongolian wild horse or Junggar wild horse), is the only remaining wild horse in the world.
Przewalski's musta is 130 cm high at shoulders and 210 cm long on its head. The mouth is blunt, the ears are short and pointed, the nose and mouth are spotted, there is no frontal mane, the neck mane is short and upright, and the mane is dark brown
In the wild, Przewalski's wild horses usually inhabit grasslands or semi-desert areas at altitudes of 700 to 1800 meters, and their diet is mainly the stems and leaves of grasses, legumes, asteraceae, and sedges, such as reeds, mustards, artemisia, and shuttles. Mongolian wild horses are very thirst-tolerant and can tolerate not drinking water for 3 to 4 days. Przewalski's wild horses tend to live in groups of 6 to 15, consisting of a single stallion, several mares and their offspring.
The identity of Przewalski's wild horses is questionable, and recent genetic studies suggest that Przewalski's wild horses may have been the first descendants of domesticated horses, domesticated by the Botai about 5500 years ago.
African wild donkey
equus africanus
The African wild ass lives in the grasslands and other dry regions of East Africa, haunting at dusk and dusk, and looking for shade or shelter in the rocky mountains at the head of the sun. It feeds mainly on grass, bark and leaves. African wild asses can survive in a lack of water, some means they also drink water with high salt content or pollution.
The African wild ass is about 150 cm tall at shoulders , has short hairs on its body , pale grey to pale yellowish brown , white abdomen and feet , and slender dark markings. Nubian wild donkey, markings over the shoulders; Somali wild donkeys have black stripes on the feet.
2 subspecies of African wild ass
Nubian wild donkey
e. a. africanus
Somali wild donkey
e. a. somalicus
Asian wild ass
equus hemionus
The Asian wild ass is a large equine found in Syria, Iran, Pakistan, India, Israel and Tibet, China. Semi-deserts, grasslands and jungles are its habitats. Most subspecies face existential threats due to habitat loss and the threat of poaching.
The Asian wild ass has a head length of about 200 cm and a weight of about 280 kg. The legs are shorter and the body color changes with the seasons: reddish-brown in summer and yellow-brown in winter. The middle of the back has black stripes with white edges.
Asian wild asses mostly live alone or in small groups, usually foraging at sunrise and dusk, eating mainly grass, leaves, fruits, crops and other plants. Asian wild donkeys are not as docile as donkeys and cannot be tamed.
There are 5 subspecies of the Asian wild ass
Mongolian wild donkey
e. h. hemionus
Syrian Wild Donkey (ex)
E. H. Hemippus
Central Asian wild donkey
e. h. the bullet
Persian wild donkey
e. h. onager
Indian wild ass
e. h. khur
Tibetan wild donkey
equus kiang
Tibetan wild donkeys, distributed in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an altitude of 4000-7000 meters, live in alpine desert areas, good group life, good at running, high vigilance. Prefers to eat thatch, moss and artemisia.
Shoulder height 132-142 cm, weight 250-400 kg. The snout is milky white, the dorsal body is brown or dark brown, slightly black in summer, the abdomen and the inside of the limbs are white, the outer limbs are pale brown, and the white of the arms is mixed with the surrounding body color without a clear boundary.
3 subspecies of Tibetan wild ass
Western subspecies
E. K. Kiang
Eastern subspecies
E. K. Holdereri
Southern subspecies
E. K. Polyodon
Fine-streaked zebra
equus grevyi
The fine-striped zebra, also known as the Grewe zebra and the narrow zebra, is found in Kenya and Ethiopia in Africa. Compared with other zebras, fine-striped zebras are taller, have larger ears, and have narrower markings, and the difference is more obvious.
Fine-striped zebras are 140-160 cm tall at shoulders and weigh 350-450 kg. The markings and spacing are very narrow, all the way to the hooves, the neck is wide, and there are no markings on the lower abdomen and the base of the tail. The ears are large, conical, the head is long and narrow, and the mane is long and erect.
It feeds mainly on grass, but also eats fruits, shrubs and bark. More than 60% of the day is spent eating.
Common zebra
equus quagga
The common zebra, also known as the plain zebra, is the most widely distributed zebra in the steppes of East and South Africa. It ranges from southern Ethiopia to eastern Africa and south to Angola and eastern South Africa.
The average zebra has a shoulder height of about 140 cm, weighs 220-280 kg, and has relatively short legs. The front part of the body is vertically striped, and the posterior part gradually transitions into horizontal stripes.
Common zebras usually live in treeless grasslands and tropical woodlands, spanning tropical and temperate regions. However, they generally do not live in deserts, dense rainforests and permanent wetlands. Since the average zebra needs a lot of food and water, they can move towards rainy places at any time.
The common zebra has been confirmed to have seven subspecies, but with the extinction of the zebra in 1883, only six subspecies remain alive today.
Common zebra 7 subspecies
Dama zebra
e. q. antiquorum
Brinell zebra
e. q. burchellii
Gerson zebra
e. q. boehmi
Sai's zebra
e. q. borensis
Chad's Zebra
e. q. chapmani
Krebs zebra
e. q. crawshayi
Donkey (ex)
e. q. quagga
mountain zebra
equus zebra
Mountain zebras are mainly found in southwestern Africa, such as South Africa, Namibia and Angola. It is a diurnal animal that mainly travels in the morning and dusk, usually inhabiting the grasslands of mountainous areas. It is mainly herbivorous and also eats young leaves.
Mountain zebras are 115-150 cm tall at shoulders and weigh 240-380 kg. The biggest feature is that there is a prominent throat knot, the stripes from the shoulder to the waist are very similar to the vertical stripes of the fine zebra, the hips begin to become horizontal stripes similar to the plain zebra, the dorsal ridge is thinner, the lower abdomen is also white, the black stripes are not connected in the lower abdomen, and the horizontal stripes from the limbs to the hooves are dense and complete.
Mountain zebra 2 subspecies
Hartman Zebra
e. z. hartmannae
promontory
e. z. zebra
Note: The content of the home horse will be introduced separately in the later stage