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Some horses deserve a better fate.
Jun. 21st, 2006 10:07 pmSome horses deserve a better fate
By Dr. Robert A. Hedeen, Naturalist Print this page
The horse is a classical subject in evolutionary biology. Exact evidence from paleontology is used to trace the evolution of the modern-day horse, Equus, back some 60 million years and several intermediate stages to a dog-like creature named Eohippus that stood less than a foot high. For some time it, was postulated that the evolutionary stages of the horse did not occur in America, but some years ago, miners in the tundra of the Yukon discovered a frozen horse identical to the modern-day form. The age of that horse was determined to be about 25,000 years. Today, we believe the horse became extinct in North America about 10,000 years ago (about the time of the Ice Age), and was not reintroduced until the 15th century by Spanish conquistadores. Coronado and other Spaniards explored parts of what is now the Southwestern United States during that period and rode and brought horses with them that had been imported from Europe. But, as a matter of fact, the herds of wild
horses in the West were not established until later when the Spanish mission system developed. ( Read more... )
By Dr. Robert A. Hedeen, Naturalist Print this page
The horse is a classical subject in evolutionary biology. Exact evidence from paleontology is used to trace the evolution of the modern-day horse, Equus, back some 60 million years and several intermediate stages to a dog-like creature named Eohippus that stood less than a foot high. For some time it, was postulated that the evolutionary stages of the horse did not occur in America, but some years ago, miners in the tundra of the Yukon discovered a frozen horse identical to the modern-day form. The age of that horse was determined to be about 25,000 years. Today, we believe the horse became extinct in North America about 10,000 years ago (about the time of the Ice Age), and was not reintroduced until the 15th century by Spanish conquistadores. Coronado and other Spaniards explored parts of what is now the Southwestern United States during that period and rode and brought horses with them that had been imported from Europe. But, as a matter of fact, the herds of wild
horses in the West were not established until later when the Spanish mission system developed. ( Read more... )
