Image of the Day: Ice Age Horse

Scientists have identified a new genus of extinct horse that lived in North America during the last ice age.


Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

Two skulls of the newly identified genus Harringtonhippus excavated from sites in Nevada (top) and Texas (bottom)ERIC SCOTT, CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY SAN BERNARDINOThe extinct New World stilt-legged horse was previously believed to be a close relative of living horse populations. But analyzing DNA from fossils found in sites in the Western US as well as Canada's Yukon territory, scientists have identified a new genus, Haringtonhippus, which is distinct any known living population of horse.

P.D. Heintzman et al., “New genus of horse from Pleistocene North America,” eLife, doi:10.7554/eLife.29944, 2017.

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide