Equus (genus)Equus () is a genus of mammals in the perissodactylfamilyEquidae, which includes horses, asses, and zebras. Within the Equidae, Equus is the only recognized extant genus, comprising seven living species. Like Equidae more broadly, Equus has numerous extinctspecies known only from fossils. The genus originated in North America and dispersed into the Old World and South America during the Early and Middle Pleistocene.
ZebraStriped animal in the equid familyZebras (US: , UK: ) (subgenus Hippotigris) are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (Equus grevyi), the plains zebra (E. quagga), and the mountain zebra (E. zebra). Zebras share the genus Equus with horses and asses, the three groups being the only living members of the family Equidae. Zebra stripes come in different patterns, unique to each individual.
UngulateUngulates are members of the diverse cladeEuungulata, which primarily consists of large mammals with hooves. Once part of the taxon "Ungulata" along with paenungulates and tubulidentates, as well as several extinct taxa, "Ungulata" has since been determined to be a polyphyletic grouping based on molecular data.
Family (taxonomy)Family (Latin: familia, pl.: familiae) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus.
SpeciesBasic unit of taxonomic classification, below genusThe hierarchy of biological classification's eight major taxonomic ranks. A genus contains one or more species. Minor intermediate ranks are not shown.A species (pl. species) is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity.
Wild horseThe wild horse (Equus ferus) is a species of the genusEquus, which includes as subspecies the modern domesticatedhorse (Equus ferus caballus) as well as the endangeredPrzewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii, sometimes treated as a separate species, i.e., Equus przewalskii).GenusGenus (; pl.: genera) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. E.g. Panthera leo (lion) and Panthera onca (jaguar) are two species within the genus Panthera.Taxonomy (biology)In biology, taxonomy (from Ancient Greek τάξις (taxis) 'arrangement' and -νομία (-nomia) 'method') is the scientific study of naming, defining (circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Modern approaches prioritize common ancestry and evolutionary relationships.
AsinusAsinus is a subgenus of Equus that encompasses several subspecies of the Equidae commonly known as wild asses or wild donkeys, characterized by long ears, a lean, straight-backed build, lack of a true withers, a coarse mane and tail, and a reputation for considerable toughness and endurance. The common donkey is the best-known domesticated representative of the subgenus, with both domesticated and feral varieties.
FossilA fossil (from Classical Latin, lit.'obtained by digging') is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the fossil record.
EoceneThe Eocene (IPA: EE-ə-seen, EE-oh-) is a geological epoch that began about 56 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The end point of the Eocene is the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT), between 33.9 and 33.4 Ma. Precise boundaries between the epochs are sometimes given at 33.9 or 33.7 Ma. The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch.
NeontologyNeontology is a part of biology that, in contrast to paleontology, studies and deals with living (or, more generally, recent) organisms. It is the study of extant taxa (singular: extant taxon): taxa (such as species, genera and families) with members still alive, as opposed to (all) being extinct.
EquidaeRelated word or term.equidRelated word or term.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.