Paleodietary reconstruction of Equus simplicidens from the Hagerman Horse Quarry (Idaho, USA) highlights high abrasive habits in North American fossil equids during the Pliocene
Cirilli, Omar (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Semprebon, Gina M. (Bay Path University. Department of Biology)
Bernor, Raymond L. (Howard University. Department of Anatomy)

Date:	2024
Abstract:	The evolutionary history of equids represents a paradigmatic case of evolution through time and space when, during the Cenozoic, fossil equids experimented with a variety of forms as well as multiple dietary adaptations. Nowadays, only a single genus of Equidae (Subfamily Equinae, tribe Equini) has survived, Equus, represented by wild zebras and asses and domesticated horses. In this contribution, we undertake a comprehensive mesowear analysis on the Equus simplicidens population from the Hagerman Horse Quarry, Idaho, Pliocene. Our sample includes sixty-two individuals based on crania and maxillae. We used the classic mesowear method in scoring the first or second molar paracone and calculated the average percentages of high versus low relief and sharp versus round versus blunt cusps, but also scored mesowear along a continuum that ranged from sharp cusps with high relief to blunt cusps with low relief by comparing E. simplicidens and extant ungulates. We applied the same methodology to a sample of living zebras, asses and horses to increase our comparative sample. Our results show that the Hagerman E. simplicidens sample had a high-abrasive diet as recorded in the living equid sample, and exhibited no significant distinction between the different age classes sampled. For the first time, these results show that the paleodietary behavior of E. simplicidens was similar to those of the living Equus species.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación JDC2022-048590-I
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió acceptada per publicar
Subject:	Mesowear ; Equus simplicidens ; Hagerman ; Fossil equids ; Pliocene
Published in:	Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Vol. 650, issue 112376 (September 2024) , ISSN 1872-616X

DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2024.112376

Available from: 2026-09-30 Postprint

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles