Equus occidentalis | |
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Skeleton in Carnegie Museum of Natural History | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Perissodactyla |
Family: | Equidae |
Genus: | Equus |
Species: | †E. occidentalis |
Binomial name | |
†Equus occidentalis Owen, 1863 |
Equus occidentalis or the Western horse, was a species of horse, now extinct, that inhabited North America.
This species represents the larger end of the prehistoric horse spectrum - it was about the size of a mustang, weighing up to 519 kg (1144 lbs). It was a stoutly built animal and resembled the extinct quagga or the modern plains zebra, although it was not a close relative of either or these species.