FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / PLoS Biol / Evolution, systematics, and phylogeography of pleistocene ho...
PLoS biology2005; 3(8); e241; doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030241

Evolution, systematics, and phylogeography of pleistocene horses in the new world: a molecular perspective.

Abstract: The rich fossil record of horses has made them a classic example of evolutionary processes. However, while the overall picture of equid evolution is well known, the details are surprisingly poorly understood, especially for the later Pliocene and Pleistocene, c. 3 million to 0.01 million years (Ma) ago, and nowhere more so than in the Americas. There is no consensus on the number of equid species or even the number of lineages that existed in these continents. Likewise, the origin of the endemic South American genus Hippidion is unresolved, as is the phylogenetic position of the "stilt-legged" horses of North America. Using ancient DNA sequences, we show that, in contrast to current models based on morphology and a recent genetic study, Hippidion was phylogenetically close to the caballine (true) horses, with origins considerably more recent than the currently accepted date of c. 10 Ma. Furthermore, we show that stilt-legged horses, commonly regarded as Old World migrants related to the hemionid asses of Asia, were in fact an endemic North American lineage. Finally, our data suggest that there were fewer horse species in late Pleistocene North America than have been named on morphological grounds. Both caballine and stilt-legged lineages may each have comprised a single, wide-ranging species.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2005-06-28 PubMed ID: 15974804PubMed Central: PMC1159165DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0030241Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article discusses the evolution, classification, and geographic distribution of horses during the Pleistocene era (approximately 3 million to 0.01 million years ago) based on molecular evidence, suggesting that some species may have originated more recently than previously thought and others might in fact be native North American species, not introduced as previously believed.

Overview

This research study examines the fossil record of horses and attempts to clarify some points of confusion regarding the evolution and diversity of horses during the late Pliocene and Pleistocene eras. This period, which spans from around 3 million to 0.01 million years ago, is poorly understood, and the study aims to shed light on it by analyzing DNA sequences from ancient horse fossils.

Nature of Confusion in Understanding Equid Evolution

  • There are disagreements regarding the number of equid (horse) species and lineages that existed during the Pleistocene era, most notably in the Americas.
  • It has been difficult to resolve the origin of the South American genus Hippidion, a now-extinct genus of horses.
  • The ‘stilt-legged’ horses of North America, so named because of their long, slender legs, also pose a complicated problem as their phylogenetic (evolutionary development and diversification) position is unclear.

Key Findings of the Research

  • Contrary to current theories based on morphology (physical characteristics) and a recent genetic study, the researchers found that Hippidion was closely related to caballine (true) horses. The origins of Hippidion are also likely to be more recent than the generally accepted date of 10 million years ago.
  • Stilt-legged horses, previously considered to have originated from Asia and related to the hemionid asses of Asia, were found to be an endemic North American lineage, meaning they evolved independently in North America.
  • Based on the researchers’ data, there were likely fewer horse species in late Pleistocene North America than has been assumed based on morphological evidence, suggesting that both caballine and stilt-legged horses could each represent a single, wide-ranging species rather than multiple, distinct species.

Cite This Article

APA
Weinstock J, Willerslev E, Sher A, Tong W, Ho SY, Rubenstein D, Storer J, Burns J, Martin L, Bravi C, Prieto A, Froese D, Scott E, Xulong L, Cooper A. (2005). Evolution, systematics, and phylogeography of pleistocene horses in the new world: a molecular perspective. PLoS Biol, 3(8), e241. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030241

Publication

PLoS biology
ISSN: 1545-7885
NlmUniqueID: 101183755
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 3
Issue: 8
Pages: e241
PII: e241

Researcher Affiliations

Weinstock, Jaco
  • Ancient Biomolecules Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, United Kingdom. jacobo.weinstock@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Willerslev, Eske
    Sher, Andrei
      Tong, Wenfei
        Ho, Simon Y W
          Rubenstein, Dan
            Storer, John
              Burns, James
                Martin, Larry
                  Bravi, Claudio
                    Prieto, Alfredo
                      Froese, Duane
                        Scott, Eric
                          Xulong, Lai
                            Cooper, Alan

                              MeSH Terms

                              • Animals
                              • Base Sequence
                              • Bone and Bones / anatomy & histology
                              • DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics
                              • Equidae / classification
                              • Equidae / genetics
                              • Evolution, Molecular
                              • Fossils
                              • Horses / classification
                              • Horses / genetics
                              • Molecular Sequence Data
                              • North America
                              • Phylogeny
                              • Sequence Analysis, DNA
                              • Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
                              • South America

                              Grant Funding

                              • Wellcome Trust

                              References

                              This article includes 35 references
                              1. Winans MC. A quantitative study of North American fossil species of the genus Equus. .
                              2. Azzaroli A. The genus Equus in North America. Palaeontographica Italica 1998;85:1–60.
                              3. Guthrie RD. Paleobehavior in Alaskan Pleistocene horses: Social structure, maturation rates, uses of the landscape, and mortality patterns. .
                              4. Kurtén B, Anderson E. Pleistocene mammals of North America. 1980.
                              5. Dalquest WW. Phylogeny of American horses of Blancan and Pleistocene age. Ann Zool Fenn 1978;15:191–199.
                              6. Harington CR. Pleistocene mammals from Lost Chicken Creek, Alaska. Can J Earth Sci 1980;17:169–197.
                              7. Harington CR, Clulow FV. Pleistocene mammals from Gold Run Creek, Yukon Territory. Can J Earth Sci 1973;10:697–745.
                              8. Uerpmann H-P. Altweltliche Faunenelemente im Spätpleistozän Alaskas und die frühe Besiedlungsgeschichte Nordamerikas. .
                              9. Willoughby DP. The empire of Equus. 1974.
                              10. Lundelius EL, Stevens MS. Equus francisci Hay, a small stilt-legged horse. Middle Pleistocene of Texas. J Paleontol 1970;44:148–153.
                              11. Sher A, Kuznetsova T. Early to Middle Pleistocene equids from Beringida. J Vert Paleontol 1996;16:65A.
                              12. Webb SD. Late Cenozoic mammal dispersals between the Americas. .
                              13. MacFadden BJ. Pleistocene horses from Tarija, Bolivia, and the validity of the genus Onohippidium (Mammalia: Equidae). J Vert Paleontol 1997;17:199–218.
                              14. Alberdi MT, Prado JL. Review of the genus Hippidion Owen, 1869 (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from the Pleistocene of South America. Zool J Linn Soc 1993;108:1–22.
                              15. Alberdi MT, Prado JL. Comments on Pleistocene horses from Tarija, Bolivia, and the validity of the genus Onohippidium (Mammalia: Equidae), by B. J. MacFadden. J Vert Paleontol 1998;18:669–72.
                              16. Orlando L, Eisenmann V, Reynier F, Sondaar P, Hänni C. Morphological convergence in Hippidion and Equus (Amerhippus) South American equids elucidated by ancient DNA analysis.. J Mol Evol 2003;57 Suppl 1:S29-40.
                                pubmed: 15008401doi: 10.1007/s00239-003-0005-4google scholar: lookup
                              17. Alberdi MT, Prado JL. El registro de Hippidion Owen, 1869 y Equus (Amerhippus) Hoffstetter, 1950 (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) en America del Sur. Ameghiniana 1992;29:265–284.
                              18. Alberdi MT, Prieto A. Hippidion (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) de las cuevas de las provincias de magallanes y tierra del Fuego. An Inst Patagonia 2000;28:147–171.
                              19. MacFadden B, Skinner M. Diversification and biogeography of the one-toed horses Onohippidium and Hippidion. Yale Peabody Mus Nat Hist Postilla 1979;175:1–9.
                              20. Eisenmann V. Origins, dispersals, and migrations of Equus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla). .
                              21. Guthrie RD. Rapid body size decline in Alaskan Pleistocene horses before extinction.. Nature 2003 Nov 13;426(6963):169-71.
                                pubmed: 14614503doi: 10.1038/nature02098google scholar: lookup
                              22. Eisenmann V, Karchoud A. Analyses multidimensionelles de metapodes d'Equus sensu lato (Mammalia, Perissodactyla). Bull Mus Natn Hist Nat Paris 1982;4:75–103.
                              23. Vilà C, Leonard JA, Gotherstrom A, Marklund S, Sandberg K, Liden K, Wayne RK, Ellegren H. Widespread origins of domestic horse lineages.. Science 2001 Jan 19;291(5503):474-7.
                                pubmed: 11161199doi: 10.1126/science.291.5503.474google scholar: lookup
                              24. Cooper A, Poinar HN. Ancient DNA: do it right or not at all.. Science 2000 Aug 18;289(5482):1139.
                                pubmed: 10970224doi: 10.1126/science.289.5482.1139bgoogle scholar: lookup
                              25. Hansen A, Willerslev E, Wiuf C, Mourier T, Arctander P. Statistical evidence for miscoding lesions in ancient DNA templates.. Mol Biol Evol 2001 Feb;18(2):262-5.
                                pubmed: 11158385doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a003800google scholar: lookup
                              26. Gilbert MT, Willerslev E, Hansen AJ, Barnes I, Rí¯¬k L, Lynnerup N, Cooper A. Distribution patterns of postmortem damage in human mitochondrial DNA.. Am J Hum Genet 2003 Jan;72(1):32-47.
                                pmc: PMC420011pubmed: 12489041doi: 10.1086/345378google scholar: lookup
                              27. Rambaut A. Se-Al: Sequence Alignment Editor [computer program]. 1996.
                              28. Swofford DL. PAUP*, version 4.0 [computer program]. 2002.
                              29. Huelsenbeck JP, Ronquist F. MRBAYES: Bayesian inference of phylogenetic trees.. Bioinformatics 2001 Aug;17(8):754-5.
                                pubmed: 11524383doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/17.8.754google scholar: lookup
                              30. Eisenmann V, Bekouche S. Identification and discrimination of metapodials from Pleistocene and modern Equus, wild and domestic. .
                              31. Harington CR. Pleistocene mammals from Lost Chicken Creek, Alaska. Can J Earth Sci 1980;17:169–197.
                              32. Alberdi MT, Miotti L, Prado JL. Hippidion saldiasi Roth, 1899 (Equidae, Perissodactyla), at the Piedra Museo Site (Santa Cruz, Argentina): Its implication for the regional economy and environmental reconstruction. J Arch Sci 2001;28:411–419.
                              33. Drummond AJ, Nicholls GK, Rodrigo AG, Solomon W. Estimating mutation parameters, population history and genealogy simultaneously from temporally spaced sequence data.. Genetics 2002 Jul;161(3):1307-20.
                                pmc: PMC1462188pubmed: 12136032doi: 10.1093/genetics/161.3.1307google scholar: lookup
                              34. Drummond AJ, Rambaut A. BEAST, version 1.2 [computer program]. 2003.
                              35. Rambaut A, Drummond AJ. Tracer, version 1.1 [computer program]. 2004.

                              Citations

                              This article has been cited 28 times.
                              1. Landry Z, Roloson MJ, Fraser D. Investigating the reliability of metapodials as taxonomic Indicators for Beringian horses.. J Mamm Evol 2022;29(4):863-875.
                                doi: 10.1007/s10914-022-09626-4pubmed: 36438779google scholar: lookup
                              2. Azarpeykan S, Gee EK, Thompson KG, Dittmer KE. Undetectable vitamin D(3) in equine skin irradiated with ultraviolet light.. J Equine Sci 2022 Sep;33(3):45-49.
                                doi: 10.1294/jes.33.45pubmed: 36196139google scholar: lookup
                              3. Cirilli O, Machado H, Arroyo-Cabrales J, Barrón-Ortiz CI, Davis E, Jass CN, Jukar AM, Landry Z, Marín-Leyva AH, Pandolfi L, Pushkina D, Rook L, Saarinen J, Scott E, Semprebon G, Strani F, Villavicencio NA, Kaya F, Bernor RL. Evolution of the Family Equidae, Subfamily Equinae, in North, Central and South America, Eurasia and Africa during the Plio-Pleistocene.. Biology (Basel) 2022 Aug 24;11(9).
                                doi: 10.3390/biology11091258pubmed: 36138737google scholar: lookup
                              4. Guimaraes S, Arbuckle BS, Peters J, Adcock SE, Buitenhuis H, Chazin H, Manaseryan N, Uerpmann HP, Grange T, Geigl EM. Ancient DNA shows domestic horses were introduced in the southern Caucasus and Anatolia during the Bronze Age.. Sci Adv 2020 Sep;6(38).
                                doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abb0030pubmed: 32938680google scholar: lookup
                              5. Andermann T, Faurby S, Turvey ST, Antonelli A, Silvestro D. The past and future human impact on mammalian diversity.. Sci Adv 2020 Sep;6(36).
                                doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abb2313pubmed: 32917612google scholar: lookup
                              6. Derryberry EP, Seddon N, Derryberry GE, Claramunt S, Seeholzer GF, Brumfield RT, Tobias JA. Ecological drivers of song evolution in birds: Disentangling the effects of habitat and morphology.. Ecol Evol 2018 Feb;8(3):1890-1905.
                                doi: 10.1002/ece3.3760pubmed: 29435262google scholar: lookup
                              7. Tomiya S, Meachen JA. Postcranial diversity and recent ecomorphic impoverishment of North American gray wolves.. Biol Lett 2018 Jan;14(1).
                                doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0613pubmed: 29343558google scholar: lookup
                              8. Heintzman PD, Zazula GD, MacPhee R, Scott E, Cahill JA, McHorse BK, Kapp JD, Stiller M, Wooller MJ, Orlando L, Southon J, Froese DG, Shapiro B. A new genus of horse from Pleistocene North America.. Elife 2017 Nov 28;6.
                                doi: 10.7554/eLife.29944pubmed: 29182148google scholar: lookup
                              9. Barrón-Ortiz CI, Rodrigues AT, Theodor JM, Kooyman BP, Yang DY, Speller CF. Cheek tooth morphology and ancient mitochondrial DNA of late Pleistocene horses from the western interior of North America: Implications for the taxonomy of North American Late Pleistocene Equus.. PLoS One 2017;12(8):e0183045.
                                doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183045pubmed: 28817644google scholar: lookup
                              10. Elsner J, Hofreiter M, Schibler J, Schlumbaum A. Ancient mtDNA diversity reveals specific population development of wild horses in Switzerland after the Last Glacial Maximum.. PLoS One 2017;12(5):e0177458.
                                doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0177458pubmed: 28542345google scholar: lookup
                              11. Cucchi T, Mohaseb A, Peigné S, Debue K, Orlando L, Mashkour M. Detecting taxonomic and phylogenetic signals in equid cheek teeth: towards new palaeontological and archaeological proxies.. R Soc Open Sci 2017 Apr;4(4):160997.
                                doi: 10.1098/rsos.160997pubmed: 28484618google scholar: lookup
                              12. Bennett EA, Champlot S, Peters J, Arbuckle BS, Guimaraes S, Pruvost M, Bar-David S, Davis SJM, Gautier M, Kaczensky P, Kuehn R, Mashkour M, Morales-Muñiz A, Pucher E, Tournepiche JF, Uerpmann HP, Bălăşescu A, Germonpré M, Gündem CY, Hemami MR, Moullé PE, Ötzan A, Uerpmann M, Walzer C, Grange T, Geigl EM. Taming the late Quaternary phylogeography of the Eurasiatic wild ass through ancient and modern DNA.. PLoS One 2017;12(4):e0174216.
                                doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0174216pubmed: 28422966google scholar: lookup
                              13. Froese D, Stiller M, Heintzman PD, Reyes AV, Zazula GD, Soares AE, Meyer M, Hall E, Jensen BJ, Arnold LJ, MacPhee RD, Shapiro B. Fossil and genomic evidence constrains the timing of bison arrival in North America.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017 Mar 28;114(13):3457-3462.
                                doi: 10.1073/pnas.1620754114pubmed: 28289222google scholar: lookup
                              14. Librado P, Fages A, Gaunitz C, Leonardi M, Wagner S, Khan N, Hanghøj K, Alquraishi SA, Alfarhan AH, Al-Rasheid KA, Der Sarkissian C, Schubert M, Orlando L. The Evolutionary Origin and Genetic Makeup of Domestic Horses.. Genetics 2016 Oct;204(2):423-434.
                                doi: 10.1534/genetics.116.194860pubmed: 27729493google scholar: lookup
                              15. Metcalf JL, Turney C, Barnett R, Martin F, Bray SC, Vilstrup JT, Orlando L, Salas-Gismondi R, Loponte D, Medina M, De Nigris M, Civalero T, Fernández PM, Gasco A, Duran V, Seymour KL, Otaola C, Gil A, Paunero R, Prevosti FJ, Bradshaw CJ, Wheeler JC, Borrero L, Austin JJ, Cooper A. Synergistic roles of climate warming and human occupation in Patagonian megafaunal extinctions during the Last Deglaciation.. Sci Adv 2016 Jun;2(6):e1501682.
                                doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1501682pubmed: 27386563google scholar: lookup
                              16. Meachen JA, Brannick AL, Fry TJ. Extinct Beringian wolf morphotype found in the continental U.S. has implications for wolf migration and evolution.. Ecol Evol 2016 May;6(10):3430-8.
                                doi: 10.1002/ece3.2141pubmed: 27252837google scholar: lookup
                              17. Naundrup PJ, Svenning JC. A Geographic Assessment of the Global Scope for Rewilding with Wild-Living Horses (Equus ferus).. PLoS One 2015;10(7):e0132359.
                                doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132359pubmed: 26177104google scholar: lookup
                              18. Der Sarkissian C, Vilstrup JT, Schubert M, Seguin-Orlando A, Eme D, Weinstock J, Alberdi MT, Martin F, Lopez PM, Prado JL, Prieto A, Douady CJ, Stafford TW, Willerslev E, Orlando L. Mitochondrial genomes reveal the extinct Hippidion as an outgroup to all living equids.. Biol Lett 2015 Mar;11(3).
                                doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.1058pubmed: 25762573google scholar: lookup
                              19. Jónsson H, Schubert M, Seguin-Orlando A, Ginolhac A, Petersen L, Fumagalli M, Albrechtsen A, Petersen B, Korneliussen TS, Vilstrup JT, Lear T, Myka JL, Lundquist J, Miller DC, Alfarhan AH, Alquraishi SA, Al-Rasheid KA, Stagegaard J, Strauss G, Bertelsen MF, Sicheritz-Ponten T, Antczak DF, Bailey E, Nielsen R, Willerslev E, Orlando L. Speciation with gene flow in equids despite extensive chromosomal plasticity.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014 Dec 30;111(52):18655-60.
                                doi: 10.1073/pnas.1412627111pubmed: 25453089google scholar: lookup
                              20. Sandom C, Faurby S, Sandel B, Svenning JC. Global late Quaternary megafauna extinctions linked to humans, not climate change.. Proc Biol Sci 2014 Jul 22;281(1787).
                                doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.3254pubmed: 24898370google scholar: lookup
                              21. Famoso NA, Davis EB. Occlusal enamel complexity in middle miocene to holocene equids (Equidae: Perissodactyla) of North America.. PLoS One 2014;9(2):e90184.
                                doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090184pubmed: 24587267google scholar: lookup
                              22. Orlando L, Ginolhac A, Zhang G, Froese D, Albrechtsen A, Stiller M, Schubert M, Cappellini E, Petersen B, Moltke I, Johnson PL, Fumagalli M, Vilstrup JT, Raghavan M, Korneliussen T, Malaspinas AS, Vogt J, Szklarczyk D, Kelstrup CD, Vinther J, Dolocan A, Stenderup J, Velazquez AM, Cahill J, Rasmussen M, Wang X, Min J, Zazula GD, Seguin-Orlando A, Mortensen C, Magnussen K, Thompson JF, Weinstock J, Gregersen K, Røed KH, Eisenmann V, Rubin CJ, Miller DC, Antczak DF, Bertelsen MF, Brunak S, Al-Rasheid KA, Ryder O, Andersson L, Mundy J, Krogh A, Gilbert MT, Kjær K, Sicheritz-Ponten T, Jensen LJ, Olsen JV, Hofreiter M, Nielsen R, Shapiro B, Wang J, Willerslev E. Recalibrating Equus evolution using the genome sequence of an early Middle Pleistocene horse.. Nature 2013 Jul 4;499(7456):74-8.
                                doi: 10.1038/nature12323pubmed: 23803765google scholar: lookup
                              23. MacFadden BJ. Dispersal of Pleistocene Equus (Family Equidae) into South America and calibration of GABI 3 based on evidence from Tarija, Bolivia.. PLoS One 2013;8(3):e59277.
                                doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059277pubmed: 23527150google scholar: lookup
                              24. Vilstrup JT, Seguin-Orlando A, Stiller M, Ginolhac A, Raghavan M, Nielsen SC, Weinstock J, Froese D, Vasiliev SK, Ovodov ND, Clary J, Helgen KM, Fleischer RC, Cooper A, Shapiro B, Orlando L. Mitochondrial phylogenomics of modern and ancient equids.. PLoS One 2013;8(2):e55950.
                                doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0055950pubmed: 23437078google scholar: lookup
                              25. Palma RE, Boric-Bargetto D, Torres-Pérez F, Hernández CE, Yates TL. Glaciation effects on the phylogeographic structure of Oligoryzomys longicaudatus (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) in the southern Andes.. PLoS One 2012;7(3):e32206.
                                doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032206pubmed: 22396751google scholar: lookup
                              26. Campos PF, Willerslev E, Sher A, Orlando L, Axelsson E, Tikhonov A, Aaris-Sørensen K, Greenwood AD, Kahlke RD, Kosintsev P, Krakhmalnaya T, Kuznetsova T, Lemey P, MacPhee R, Norris CA, Shepherd K, Suchard MA, Zazula GD, Shapiro B, Gilbert MT. Ancient DNA analyses exclude humans as the driving force behind late Pleistocene musk ox (Ovibos moschatus) population dynamics.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010 Mar 23;107(12):5675-80.
                                doi: 10.1073/pnas.0907189107pubmed: 20212118google scholar: lookup
                              27. Orlando L, Metcalf JL, Alberdi MT, Telles-Antunes M, Bonjean D, Otte M, Martin F, Eisenmann V, Mashkour M, Morello F, Prado JL, Salas-Gismondi R, Shockey BJ, Wrinn PJ, Vasil'ev SK, Ovodov ND, Cherry MI, Hopwood B, Male D, Austin JJ, Hänni C, Cooper A. Revising the recent evolutionary history of equids using ancient DNA.. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2009 Dec 22;106(51):21754-9.
                                doi: 10.1073/pnas.0903672106pubmed: 20007379google scholar: lookup
                              28. Orlando L, Male D, Alberdi MT, Prado JL, Prieto A, Cooper A, Hänni C. Ancient DNA clarifies the evolutionary history of American Late Pleistocene equids.. J Mol Evol 2008 May;66(5):533-8.
                                doi: 10.1007/s00239-008-9100-xpubmed: 18398561google scholar: lookup
                              Subscribe to our newsletter
                              Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.