COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Evolutionary History of Holarctic and Ethiopian Hipparionine Horses: Systematics, Lineage Extensions and Adaptations

三趾马是一种已经灭绝的三趾马，在中新世晚期（约11 Ma）首次出现后不久，在旧大陆广泛繁殖。 一旦建立，马蹄莲进化成众多的谱系，年代范围延伸到中国的中更新世和非洲的晚更新世。 这些马的古生物学在这个伟大的时间（约10百万年）。并且迄今为止还没有系统地解决地理跨度。PI认为，马属实际上起源于北美的Cormohipparion属，但涉及的实际物种尚未得到证明。 他们提出的研究将在1.描述Cormohipparion内复杂的物种形成模式; 2.更好地解决了旧世界的三趾马移民和随后的进化辐射;和3。解开起源，进化辐射，多个地理延伸和适应物种属于一个独特的旧大陆晚中新世更新世辐射称为西瓦河马复合体。 一旦描述和记录了旧世界中马的分散和多样化的模式，PI将能够调查这些马的古生物学，以进一步了解它们在这一进化剧场中取得优势的饮食和运动适应性。

Hipparions are an extinct group of three-toed horses that flourished widely in the Old world shortly after their first occurrence there in the late Miocene, at about 11 Ma. Once established, hipparions evolved into a multitude of lineages with chronologic ranges extending to the middle Pleistocene in China and the late Pleistocene of Africa. The paleobiology of these horses within this great temporal (ca 10 m.y.) and geographic span has not been addressed systematically heretofore. PIs believe that hipparions actually originated within the North American genus Cormohipparion, but the actual species involved has not been demonstrated. Their proposed research will break new ground in 1. describing a complex pattern of speciation within Cormohipparion; 2. better resolving the Old World hipparion immigration and subsequent evolutionary radiation; and 3. unraveling the origin, evolutionary radiation, multiple geographic extensions and adaptation of species belonging to a distinctive Old World late Miocene Pleistocene radiation known as the Sivalhippus Complex. Once having described and documented the pattern of dispersal and diversification of hipparions in the Old World PIs will be able to investigate the paleobiology of these horses to gain further insights on the dietary and locomotory adaptations by which they achieved their predominance in this evolutionary theater for so long an interval of time.