45 Million Years Ago. the Oldest Known Horse Was Four-Toed Browser

H)1acothenum Hyracotherium 55- 45 million years ago. The oldest known horse w as four-toed browser that foraged on nonflbrous foods. Its molars showed the beginning of horse-like ridges be ter SUI ed for grazing Miohippus 33- 29 mya . This two-toed browser was sible for a burst of i side branches in the horse Iy Its descen dants were numerous and distinct. Merychippus 17-11 mya The fi rst grazing horse had stro g, cres • ed teeth that enabled it to eat abraSive grass es. Even w ith primitive three- oed feet, its long legs eqUip ped it for quick escapes and long-distance migrati ons. £quus 5 mya The single survivor of the formerly diverse horse genus, its living species include horses, asse s, and zebras. Domestication of Equus 3,000 years ago dramati cally Impacted the world's ciVilizations by facil Ita ting agriculture, migration, ilnd warfare . fQlJU5 • H. Gregory McDonald, Ph.D. Director 0 Sci~ n ce a Pal eo!1lol y University of Col do Museum • Equus Evolves McDonald • Equu~ Evolve~ CHAPTER TWO he mystique of the horse seems universal. It is a survivor, a reli c of the past, a rem inder of a primeva l and very different Earth Today there are eight species of horses, including zebras, donkeys, asses, burros, onagers, kulans, kiangs, and domestic horses, as well as the recently extinct quagga. All eight li ving species belong to the genus Equus, the Lati n word for horse and the source for the term equestrian However, the horses preserved in the foss il record represent as many as 40 Secrets of the MaSlc Valley si x to eight genera, w ith each genus having numerous species. Although scientists once upheld the horse as a model of linear sequence, that model no longer applies Despite the horse's ancient success, by 3.7 million years ago the number of genera fel l to three in North America. Members included a sma ll form known as Nannippus, a larger rel ative called Cormohipparion, and Equus. The first two genera repre sent lineages with a long history starting si xteen mil lion years ago. Both ultimately became extinct, leaving no descendants. In con trast, Equus, a relative latecomer geologically speaking, first appeared only 3.7 mi llion years ago . The genus quickly adapted and diversified, eventually d is persing from North America into Asia, Europe, and Africa where its descendants stil l survive. What was it about Equus that made its survival possible when all other types of horses became extinct? Paleontologists look for answers in the anatomy and ecology of Hagerman 's Equus simp/icidens. By examining the fossilized remains of the earliest known species of Equus, science can better explain w hy the horse lineage survived. We refer to the earliest known ARunning species of Equus Ma(hine as the "Hagerman Horse" in refer ence to the large sample from the Smithson ian Horse Quarry, located w ithin Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument and managed by the National Park Service How ever, the scientific history of this species actually goes back to the close of the nine teenth century. In 1892, paleontologist Edw ard Drinker Cope first described Equus simp/ici dens. Cope found the origi nal specimen, a single tooth, near Mount Bla nco, Crosby County, Texas. Later discoveries of horses from similar age deposits elsewhere in the United States resulted in the description of other species of Equus. 4l Eq!JU5 Evolves Sometimes these other species were not even considered to be Equus. At one time the genus Plesippus was used for what are now Epochs of Equus considered the earliest species of Equus. The primitive anatomy of the skeleton of Pleslppus provided a link betvveen OinohlPPus, the ear li er ancestor, and Equus Such was the case when the Smithsonian visited Presenl Hagerman in 1929. The Smithsonian paleontologist who first worked Horses return to America, the site now known as the Smithsonian Horse Quarry was James W. Gidley, then the lead ing student of fossil horses. When Gidley first described the material from Hagerman, he na med it Pleslppus shoshon ensis because of the animal 's primitive skeleta l structure. Later Pleistocene researchers decided that Gidley's species from Hagerman w as the 2mya Horses roam North Amenca sa me as the previously described Equus simplicidens from Texas. Equus buried In Hagerman Since many fossil species of Equus have often been described deposits. based on a sing le tooth, it has been d ifficult to determine if all these d ifferent species are really valid. If one species is based on an upper tooth and another on a low er, then ca n w e really be sure they are dis tinct, or do the differences merely reflect the d ifferences betvveen Pliocene : upper and low er teeth? There are many fac tors that contribute to the 5 mya . variations we see in fossi ls They may reflect the age of an individual or Three -toed horse types be indicative of the differences betvveen males and females. What spread south across the makes the Smithsonian Horse Quarry sample so important is that it rep Panamanian Isthmus. resents a large sample of a single species; it includes males, females, and individuals of all different ages. This site provides a paleontologist w ith the opportunity to examine the range of variation present in a Miocene species. Such a site is a rare occurrence in a 17 mya, fossil record that often consists of bits and Zebraltke Equus first An epoch of diversIficatIOn, pieces rather than whole skulls or ske letons. appeared 3.7 million Merychlppus , a grazer, The sc ience of paleontology is constant ly vee rs ago dunng tile appears among brolNSing reexam ining the available fossil evidence, pro Pliocene, Left: Grevy's horses. Apelike humans for zebra stallions battle age near wooded Tuscany posing hypotheses regarding the ecology or for dominance relationships of extinct an ima ls based on tha t Previous: excavating tile evidence, and then testing each hypothesis as Horse Qwrry new evidence becomes ava ilable. A hypothe Oligocene sis on the ecology of an extinct species Will be weak when only isolat 33 mya. ed bones and teeth are avai lable. When a large sample of individuals Early apes, primitive such as tha t of the Hagerman Horse from the Smithson ian Quarry mastodons, shallow-jawed Miohlj:)pUS horses becomes available, an earlier hypothes is may be strengthened, or as is often the case, revised. Such a large sample provides an opportunity to Eocene gain a wea lth of information that might not be otherwise possible to SSmya, glean from the fossil record. Stud ies of the skeleton of the Hagerman Hyracotherium, or '"Dawn Horse from this sample, and compa rison with its modern livi ng rela H~· the first equid. tives, suggest that it is actually more zebralike than horse like. More speci fically, its sku ll , teeth, and skeleton are most similar to the living Paleocene Grevy's zebra, w hich inhabits arid regions in the northern part of Africa. 65 mya . Extinction of dinosaurs 42 Secrets of the Magic Valley Some horse experts consider Grevy's zebra the most primitive of the living members of the horse fami ly, so some of the features shared with the Hagerman Horse may reflect the generally more primitive skeletal structure of Grevy's zebra One of the features they have in common is a long skul l with a ~trange Beait1 ExcJUSNe to North America, QreoCionts combined characteris tiCS of camels, deer, and pigs. Their most extraordinary and specialized member, Pronomotherium, appeared In the late Miocene exhibiting the kind of bizarre changes often found in the family. Its exaggerated probosCIS masked d skull similar to great apes. About the size of a Wild boar, it lived In large herds and shared grassy plains with early. horses prominent occipital region, the back of the skull wnere the neck musc les attach. Also, the folds of eniJmel on the lower molar teeth are similar. like modern zebras, the Hagerman Horse has a small hoof in proportion to its body size. Whi le the horse was larger than its anc ient ancestors, it was not an especially large animal. Slightly smaller than today's zebras, it stood about 4.3 feet (13 hands) at the shoulder Some of its descendants are larger, but not all. The living donkey is smaller than the Hagerman Horse. Like al l modern members of the family Equidae, Hagerman's Equus simp/ieidens was one-toed with reduced side toes. The middle toe supported all the anima l's w eight. This adaptation to running had already occurred earlier, so Equus w as not the only one-toed horse. It merely continued the trend, with the remnant splints of the side toes completely hidden beneath the skin. The main bones for support in the ha nd and feet (metacarpal and metatarsal ) continued to become elongated, increasing the overal l length. Longer legs meant a longer stride and more ground covered . "In the horse," paleontologist W B. Scott said, "everything has been sacrificed to speed, making the animal a "'cursorial machine'" Perhaps one of the most telling features of the skeleton in this early ancestor of modern horses is the upper leg bone, or humerus One of the very distinct characteristics of living horses is their ability to stand, even sleep, upright for long periods of time. This is possible because of a specialized system of muscles, ligaments, and deep fasc ia (a connective tissue) known as the stay-apparatus.

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