Image: Equus occidentalis skeleton

Description: Equus occidentalis Owen, 1863 - fossil horse skeleton from the Pleistocene of California, USA. (CM 10196, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA) From museum signage: "In the 55 million-year evolution of the horse, Equus occidentalis was the earliest to exhibit the physical structure that we identify with horses today. The teeth, feet, and size of this horse were now adapted to the grazing life of the open plains. This skeleton was excavated from Los Angeles’ famed La Brea Tar Pits, among a variety of predators including the saber-toothed cat, dire wolf, and great American lion. It became extinct in the New World from unknown causes and was replaced thousands of years later by horses transported from the Old World. " Classification: Animalia, Chordata, Vertebrata, Mammalia, Perissodactyla, Equidae Stratigraphy: La Brea Asphalt, Upper Pleistocene Locality: Rancho La Brea Tar Pits, southern California, USA See info. at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equus_occidentalis and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equus_(genus) and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Brea_Tar_Pits
Title: Equus occidentalis skeleton
Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jsjgeology/31650552204/
Author: James St. John
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes