European ass

European ass

Leg
Conservation status
Extinct
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Equidae
Genus:	Equus
Subgenus:	Asinus
Species:	†E. hydruntinus
Binomial name
*Equus hydruntinus*

The European ass (Equus hydruntinus) is an extinct equine from the middle and late Pleistocene of Eurasia. It appeared first in the fossil report 300,000 years before present and did not disappear until Holocene times. In the late Pleistocene it was widespread throughout much of western Eurasia from the Middle East to Europe, especially along the Mediterranean, with fossil reports from Sicily, Turkey, Spain, France and Portugal. In the east the range apparently stretched at least to the Volga and to Iran. In the north it reached almost to the North Sea in Germany. It is possible that the Iberian "cebro", extinct in the wild from the 16th century, could correspond to the Equus hydruntinus. Morphologically the European ass can be distinguished from asses and hemiones particularly by its molars and the relatively short nares. The exact systematic position is still not fully clear, but genetic and morphological analysis suggest that it is closely related to the Asiatic wild ass.^[1]^[2]

Etymology

The specific epithet, hydruntinus, means from Otranto (Hydruntum in Latin).

References

↑ Ariane Burke, Vera Eisenmann and Graeme K. Ambler: The systematic position of Equus hydruntinus, an extinct species of Pleistocene equid. Quaternary Research, Volume 59, Issue 3, May 2003, Pages 459-469. online
↑ LUDOVIC ORLANDO, MARYAM MACHKOUR, ARIANE BURKE, CHRISTOPHE J. DOUADY, VÉRA EISENMANN and CATHERINE HÄNNI: Geographic distribution of an extinct equid (Equus hydruntinus: Mammalia, Equidae) revealed by morphological and genetical analyses of fossils. Molecular Ecology Volume 15 Issue 8 Page 2083-2093, July 2006. online

Species of the genus Equus

Extinct species are marked †

Asses	Equus africanus Equus africanus africanus Equus africanus asinus †Equus africanus atlanticus Equus africanus somaliensis Equus hemionus Equus hemionus hemionus †Equus hemionus hemippus Equus hemionus khur Equus hemionus kulan Equus hemionus luteus Equus hemionus onager †Equus hydruntinus Equus kiang Equus kiang chu Equus kiang holdereri Equus kiang kiang Equus kiang polyodon

Zebras	Equus grevyi Equus quagga Equus quagga burchellii Equus quagga boehmi Equus quagga borensis Equus quagga chapmani Equus quagga crawshayi Equus quagga selousi †Equus quagga quagga †Equus stenonis †Equus simplicidens Equus zebra Equus zebra hartmannae Equus zebra zebra

Horses	†Equus complicatus †Equus conversidens †Equus crinidens †Equus cumminsii †Equus excelsus Equus ferus Equus ferus caballus †Equus ferus ferus Equus ferus przewalskii †Equus francisci †Equus fraternus †Equus giganteus †Equus lambei †Equus namadicus †Equus niobrarensis †Equus occidentalis †Equus pacificus †Equus parastylidens †Equus pectinatus †Equus scotti †Equus sivalensis †Equus yunnanensis

Equidae Evolution of the horse Wild horse Domestication of the horse

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European ass

Etymology

References

See also