Lima (Peru) Feb 22: Peruvian geologists have discovered the most complete horse fossil in the Americas, a reminder that the hoofed mammal existed in the New World long before the Spanish brought horses in the 1500s. "Horses were reintroduced to South America. With this (find) we hope to remind people this animal did exist here, but died out some 10,000 years ago," Rodolfo Salas, head of Peru`s Natural History Museum`s paleontology department, said on Friday.
A team from the museum discovered the preserved skeleton of an Equus (Amerihippus) santaeelenae in July 2002 in the arid department of Arequipa, some 600 miles south of Lima.

The horse, unearthed in an area full of volcanic ash and mud flows, had its head arched back and its front legs splayed out in front of its body. It was to be put on public display in the capital Lima on Feb. 28.

"Without a doubt, this is the most complete horse fossil that exists in the Americas. Absolutely all the bones have been preserved," Salas told Reuters.

Compared to today`s horse, the Equus santaeelenae had a large head, a thick neck and short legs.

"It was definitely a good runner ... and lived in open areas like savannahs or pastures," he said.
He said the horse arrived in South America about 3 million years ago, making its way across the isthmus of Panama from North America.

But its population dwindled and it became extinct about 10,000 years ago, around the time humans settled South America.

Bureau Report