Equus fraternus

Equus fraternus
Temporal range: 1.8–0.012 Ma Irvingtonian to Rancholabrean
Incisors found at Iberia Parish, Louisiana.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Species:
†E. fraternus
Binomial name
†Equus fraternus
Leidy, 1860

Equus fraternus is a possibly dubious extinct species of Equus that lived in North America during the Pleistocene epoch. Fossils of E. fraternus have been reported from Irvingtonian and Rancholabrean deposits in Alberta, Canada and Florida, Illinois, Mississippi, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas, USA. A possible record is also known from Costa Rica. Its holotype (name-bearing) specimen consists of an isolated second premolar, which was cataloged at the American Museum of Natural History under AMNH 9200. In a 1985 dissertation, American researcher Melissa C. Winans stated that the tooth characteristics used to diagnose (differentiate one species from others) E. fraternus were invalid, as they could have been caused by wear. Additionally, the holotype material contained more than one individual. Despite this, Italian researcher Augusto Azzaroli assigned several skulls, mandibles, and postcranial elements to this species. Azzaroli considered E. fraternus a close relative of Mexican and South American horses, especially E. conversidens. Its taxonomic status remains unclear.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cirilli, Omar; Machado, Helena; Arroyo-Cabrales, Joaquin; Barrón-Ortiz, Christina I.; Davis, Edward; Jass, Christopher N.; Jukar, Advait M.; Landry, Zoe; Marín-Leyva, Alejandro H.; Pandolfi, Luca; Pushkina, Diana; Rook, Lorenzo; Saarinen, Juha; Scott, Eric; Semprebon, Gina (2022-08-24). "Evolution of the Family Equidae, Subfamily Equinae, in North, Central and South America, Eurasia and Africa during the Plio-Pleistocene". Biology. 11 (9): 1258. doi:10.3390/biology11091258. ISSN 2079-7737. PMC 9495906. PMID 36138737.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Winans, Melissa C. (1985). "Revision of North American fossil species of the genus Equus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Equidae)". University of Texas, Austin. Dissertation: 1–264.
  3. ↑ Hulbert, Richard (1995-03-14). "Equus from Leisey Shell Pit 1A and other Irvingtonian localities from Florida". Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History. 37 (17): 553–602. doi:10.58782/flmnh.urug9502. ISSN 2373-9991.
  4. ↑ Priego-Vargas, Jaime; Bravo-Cuevas, Victor Manuel; Jiménez-Hidalgo, Eduardo (June 2016). "The record of Cenozoic horses in Mexico: current knowledge and palaeobiological implications". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 96 (2): 305–331. Bibcode:2016PdPe...96..305P. doi:10.1007/s12549-015-0223-y. ISSN 1867-1594.
  5. ↑ Azzaroli, August (1995-01-01). "A synopsis of the quaternary species of Equus in North America". Bollettino della Societa Paleontologica Italiana. 34 (2): 205–221. ISSN 0375-7633.
  6. 1 2 Azzaroli, Augusto (1998). "The genus Equus in North America: The Pleistocene species". Palaeontographia Italica. 85: 1–60. ISSN 0373-0972.
  7. ↑ Alberdi, María Teresa; Arroyo-Cabrales, Joaquín; Marín-Leyva, Alejandro H.; Polaco, Oscar J. (2014). "Study of Cedral Horses and their place in the Mexican Quaternary". Revista mexicana de ciencias geológicas. 31 (2): 221–237. ISSN 1026-8774.