Equus ovodovi explained

Equus ovodovi is an extinct species of equine known from the Late Pleistocene and Holocene of North and East Asia.

Description

Equus ovodovi was slightly larger than the Asiatic wild ass,^[1] from which it can be distinguished based on its larger and more robust limb bones.^[2]

Ecology

Isotopic analysis of specimens from the Holocene of China suggests a preference for C₄ plants.^[3]

Evolution and extinction

Equus ovodovi has been suggested to be the last surviving member of the subgenus Sussemionus, which first appeared in North America over 2 million years ago, and was formerly present across Afro-Eurasia.^[4] Some later studies questioned its relationship to the subgenus Sussemionus.^[5] Remains are known spanning from southern Western Siberia to Northern China, with the youngest remains dating to around 3500 years ago (~1500 BC) in Northern China. Genetic evidence suggests that it more closely related to zebras and asses than to horses. Initial genetic analysis based on the mitochondrial DNA found the exact relationship to be uncertain, but analysis of the full nuclear genome suggests that zebras and asses are more closely related to each other than either are to E. ovodovi, though there had been gene flow into the Equus ovodovi lineage from both the last common ancesor of zebras and asses and the last common ancestor of zebras, as well as gene flow from the Equus ovodovi lineage into the last common ancestor of asses.^[6]

Cladogram after Cai et al. 2022: Its genetic diversity progressively declined to very low levels over the course of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene prior to its extinction.

Notes and References

1. Eisenmann . Véra . Sergej . Vasiliev . September 2011 . Unexpected finding of a new Equus species (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) belonging to a supposedly extinct subgenus in late Pleistocene deposits of Khakassia (Southwestern Siberia) . Geodiversitas . en . 33 . 3 . 519–530 . 10.5252/g2011n3a5 . 128625427 . 1280-9659.
2. Plasteeva . N. A. . Vasiliev . S. K. . Klementiev . A. M. . Kosintsev . P. A. . December 2021 . Morphological Differentiation of Equids (Equus ovodovi, Equus hemionus) and Their Distribution Ranges in Western Siberia in the Late Pleistocene . Biology Bulletin . en . 48 . S1 . S197–S207 . 10.1134/S1062359021140132 . 2021BioBu..48S.197P . 254283695 . 1062-3590.
3. Liang . Qiyao . Chen . Quanjia . Zhang . Naifan . Zhang . Wei . Ning . Chao . Cai . Dawei . March 2023 . Subsistence strategies in the Late Neolithic and Bronze Age in Nenjiang River Basin: A zooarchaeological and stable isotope analysis of faunal remains at Honghe site, Northeast China . International Journal of Osteoarchaeology . en . 33 . 2 . 271–284 . 10.1002/oa.3212 . 257035576 . 1047-482X.
4. Eisenmann . Véra . March 2010 . Sussemionus, a new subgenus of Equus (Perissodactyla, Mammalia) . Comptes Rendus Biologies . en . 333 . 3 . 235–240 . 10.1016/j.crvi.2009.12.013. 20338542 .
5. Eisenmann . Vera . 2022-09-11 . Old World Fossil Equus (Perissodactyla, Mammalia), Extant Wild Relatives and Incertae Sedis Forms . Quaternary . en . 5 . 3 . 38 . 10.3390/quat5030038 . 2571-550X . free.
6. Cai . Dawei . Zhu . Siqi . Gong . Mian . Zhang . Naifan . Wen . Jia . Liang . Qiyao . Sun . Weilu . Shao . Xinyue . Guo . Yaqi . Cai . Yudong . Zheng . Zhuqing . Zhang . Wei . Hu . Songmei . Wang . Xiaoyang . Tian . He . 2022-05-11 . Radiocarbon and genomic evidence for the survival of Equus Sussemionus until the late Holocene . eLife . en . 11 . 10.7554/eLife.73346 . 2050-084X . 9142152 . 35543411 . free.