Knowra Equus Equus Equus is the only living genus of equids, comprising horses, asses, and zebras. Its members are large, single-toed mammals adapted for fast running and grazing.
Equidae : Equidae is the family of mammals that includes horses, asses, and zebras. Equus is the sole living genus within this family.
Cursoriality : Cursoriality is anatomical and physiological specialization for sustained or rapid running. Long limbs and reduced toes help Equus species travel efficiently across open ground.
Equus simplicidens : Equus simplicidens is an extinct North American equid from the Pliocene, often called the Hagerman horse. Its fossils document an early species within the genus.
Domestication of the horse : Horse domestication is the process by which people brought horses under human management and bred them for use. It transformed one Equus species into a major source of transport and labor.
Tapir : A tapir is a large browsing mammal in the order Perissodactyla, with a short, flexible proboscis. Tapirs share the odd-toed order with Equus but have a different body plan and ecology.
Perissodactyla : Perissodactyla is the mammal order of odd-toed ungulates, including horses, tapirs, and rhinoceroses. Equidae belongs to this order, whose members bear weight on an odd number of toes.
Hypsodont : Hypsodont teeth have high crowns that continue erupting as chewing wears them down. Equus teeth resist abrasion from grass and grit.
Equus stenonis : Equus stenonis is an extinct large equid that lived across Eurasia during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene. Its fossils record the genus's early expansion into Eurasia.
Domestication of the donkey : Donkey domestication is the development of managed domestic asses from African wild asses. It created a hardy working animal from another Equus lineage.
Rhinoceros : A rhinoceros is a large perissodactyl mammal characterized by one or two horns on its snout. Rhinos are another living branch of Perissodactyla, unlike Equus's single-toed runners.
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