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The systematic position of Equus hydruntinus, an extinct species of Pleistocene equid☆

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Ariane Burke ,
Vera Eisenmann  and
Graeme K. Ambler
Ariane Burke*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 5V5, Canada
Vera Eisenmann
Affiliation:
UMR 8569 et ESA 8045 du CNRS, Laboratoire de Paléontologie, 8 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
Graeme K. Ambler
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol, BS8 1TW, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email Address:aburke@cc.manitoba.ca
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Abstract

Palaeolithic people commonly hunted Equus hydruntinus, an extinct species of equid whose cursorial body proportions suggest an adaptation to semi-arid conditions. Despite the frequency with which it is encountered in fossil deposits, only partial cranial remains have been reported until now. As a result, the systematic affiliation of the species remains a subject of controversy. Two nearly complete E. hydruntinus crania are presented here for the first time. These skulls show that E. hydruntinus is a distinct species, more closely related to the hemiones (Asiatic asses) than to any other equid. This suggests that the social organisation of E. hydruntinus followed one of two known equid sociotypes: resource defense territoriality.

Keywords

Equid SystematicsE. hydruntinusEthologyPalaeolithicHunting

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Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 59 , Issue 3 , May 2003 , pp. 459 - 469
Copyright
Elsevier Science (USA)

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