Evolution of the Horse

Herausgegeben:Miller, Frederic P.; Vandome, Agnes F.; McBrewster, John

• Broschiertes Buch

Produktbeschreibung

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The evolution of the horse involves the gradual development of the modern horse from the fox-sized, forest-dwelling Hyracotherium. Paleozoologists have been able to piece together a more complete picture of the modern horse's evolutionary lineage than that of any other animal. The horse belongs to an order known as Perissodactyla, or "odd-toed ungulates", which all share hoofed feet and an odd number of toes on each foot, as well as mobile upper lips and a similar tooth structure. This means that horses share a common ancestry with tapirs and rhinoceros. The perissodactyls originally arose in the late Paleocene, less than 10 million years after the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event. This group of animals appears to have been originally specialized for life in tropical forests, but whereas tapirs and, to some extent, rhinoceroses, retained their jungle specializations, modern horses are adapted to life on drier land in the much-harsher climatic conditions of the steppes. Other species of Equus are adapted to a variety of intermediate conditions.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Alphascript Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 124
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9786130259273
• ISBN-10: 6130259271
• Artikelnr.: 28114580