Equus pacificus: Horse Species that Died Out in the Ice Age
Of horse!
#Equus pacificus is a well known horse species that died out in the Ice Age. This specimen is based off of a fantastic find near Pyramid Lake, Nevada in 1985 and is on display at the Nevada State Museum.
Leidy named it in 1868 based off of a single tooth found in California. The gorgeous skull of E. mexicanus was moved to it in 1972, finally providing solid info on this horse, which galloped in Mexico, Texas, Nevada, California, and Oregon. Phylogenetically they seem to be closely related to South American species and E. fraternus, which ranges from Alberta to Florida (!). The continent truly was the domain of the horse until the Ice Age did them in.
The validity of this species has been questioned, as recently as 2016 a paper by McHorse e.a., citing Wimans 1985, that the species is invalid. To me the 1868 naming from a tooth is a great example of a paucitype, but I am no horse lad (I do own a 1969 Mach I though ;-)) and don’t have a horse in the race. They merged E. pacificus with E. scotti, which you may recall I published a video of about two years ago from a neat specimen in Texas.
I learned there are stout-legged (w/ robust lower limb elements) aka “true horses,” and stilt-legged (slender lower limb elements) horse types in the Pleistocene.
Pyramid Lake’s gypsum caves have produced other horses, plus an April Fool’s joke about a unicorn. I guess horse folk can’t help but horse around ;-).
If you check my 500px.com/bcurtice you will see a number of wild horse pics I have taken while birding at the Salt River. I even wrote an article on them for a travel magazine. People see me with my long lens and assume I am “horsing,” however horses are but a delightful bycatch of my birding. The lower Salt offers over 300 bird species (!), which is why it is such an allure.
Kayaking the Salt may bring you into far closer contact than you’d like with the wild horses, many of which seem unfazed by floating humans. I am quite fazed… I was even treed once when a herd with young came over a rise and were none to pleased with me. Hadn’t climbed in years. Cacti don’t make good tree climbers. Careful, but not good :-).