Taxonomy
Przewalski's horse was formally described as a novel species in 1881 by Ivan Semyonovich Polyakov. The taxonomic position of Przewalski's horse remains controversial, and no consensus exists whether it is a full species (as ''Equus przewalskii''); a subspecies of ''Equus ferus'' theLineage
Early sequencing studies of DNA revealed several genetic characteristics of Przewalski's horse that differ from what is seen in modern domestic horses, indicating neither is ancestor of the other, and supporting the status of Przewalski horses as a remnant wild population not derived from modern domestic horses. The evolutionaryCharacteristics
Przewalski's horse is stockily built in comparison to domesticated horses, with shorter legs, though being much smaller and shorter than its domesticated relatives. Typical height is about , and length is about . It weighs around . The coat is generallyGenomics
The karyotype of Przewalski's horse differs from that of the domestic horse, having 33 chromosome pairs versus 32, apparently due to a fission of a large chromosome ancestral to domestic horse chromosome 5 to produce Przewalski's horse chromosomes 23 and 24, though conversely, a Robertsonian translocation that fused two chromosomes ancestral to those seen in Przewalski's horse to produce the single large domestic horse chromosome has also been proposed. Many smaller inversions, insertions and other rearrangements were observed between the chromosomes of domestic and Przewalski's horses, while there was much lower heteroEcology and behavior
Diet
Przewalski horse's diet consists mostly of vegetation. Many plant species are in a typical Przewalski's horse environment, including: ''Reproduction
Mating occurs in late spring or early summer. Mating stallions do not start looking for mating partners until the age of five. Stallions assemble groups of mares or challenge the leader of another group for dominance. Females are able to give birth at the age of three and have a gestation period of 11–12 months. Foals are able to stand about an hour after birth. The rate of infant mortality among foals is 25%, with 83.3% of these deaths resulting from leading stallion infanticide. Foals begin grazing within a few weeks but are not weaned for 8–13 months after birth. They reach sexual maturity at two years of age.Population
History
Przewalski's-type wild horses appear in European cave art dating as far back as 20,000 years ago, but genetic investigation of a 35,870-year-old specimen from one such cave instead showed affinity with extinct Iberian horse lineage and the modern domestic horse, suggesting that it was not Przewalski's horse being depicted in this art. Horse skeletons dating to the fifth to the third millennia BCE, found in Central Asia, with a range extending to the southernCaptivity
Attempts to obtain specimens for exhibit and captive breeding were largely unsuccessful until 1902, when 28 captured foals were brought to Europe. These, along with a small number of additional captives, would be distributed among zoos and breeding centers in Europe and the United States. Many facilities failed in their attempts at captive breeding, but a few programs were established. However, by the mid-1930s, inbreeding had caused reduced fertility and the captive population experienced aConservation efforts
Reintroduction
Reintroductions organized by Western European countries started in the 1990s. These were later stopped, mostly for financial reasons. In 2011,Assisted reproduction and cloning
See also
*References
Further reading
* * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * *External links
* * * * {{Authority control Horse subspecies Mammals of Mongolia Mammals of Central Asia Mammals of Russia Natural history of China Endangered fauna of Asia Mammals of Europe Mammals described in 1881