The Rise of Horses: 55 Million Years of Evolution

by Jens Lorenz Franzen, Kirsten M. Brown

Overview

One of the world's leading experts on horse evolution traces the origins, evolution, and diversification of the equines.

Long domesticated, related to rhinoceroses, and descended from a creature the size of a hare, horses are a fascinating study in evolution. Jens Franzen's account explores the early evolution and eventual diversification of horse anatomy to explain how and why these once widespread and varied mammals became the common horses, zebras, and asses we know today. Beginning with their evolutionary rise roughly 55 million years ago, Franzen traces a history etched in fossils. He explains how improving body construction and energy balance allowed some horses to enter and thrive in new environments while others failed and became extinct. In presenting this story, Franzen hews closely to the Frankfurt theory of evolution and explains how it applies to the wide variations in the evolution of horse species.

Accessibly written and featuring full-color photographs and illustrations throughout, The Rise of Horses is the complete chronicle of the evolution of the equids.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801893735
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	02/01/2010
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Jens Lorenz Franzen is the former head of the Department of Paleoanthropology and Quartenary Paleontology at Senckenberg Natural History Museum in Frankfurt, Germany. He has published hundreds of articles on fossils and evolution and is widely recognized as a leading expert on horse evolution.

Table of Contents

Preface to the English Edition
1. Prologue
2. Introduction
3. The Depths of Time
4. Europe in the Eocene
5. The Dawn Horses of the Morning Cloud
6. Constructions and Functions
7. Discovering Horse Evolution
8. Evolution and Expansion of the Horses
9. Pseudo Horses and Relatives of Horses
10. The Ice Age and the Roots of Modern Horses
11. Conclusion
Exhibits on the Evolution of Horses
Further Reading
Index

Editorial Reviews

Overall, a useful popular book for the intended audience.
—Choice

Goff combines teaching and research to create a novel way of looking at athletics.
—Choice

A comprehensive account, with full-coloured photographs and clear drawings that are very useful for teachers and students.
—Evelyne Bremond-Hoslet & Christian Denys, Mammalia

A good overview of horse evolution.
—Juha Saarinen, Quarterly Review of Biology

From the Publisher

Overall, a useful popular book for the intended audience.

Choice

A good overview of horse evolution.

Quarterly Review of Biology - Juha Saarinen

A comprehensive account, with full-coloured photographs and clear drawings that are very useful for teachers and students.

Mammalia - Evelyne Bremond-Hoslet & Christian Denys

A good overview of horse evolution.

— Juha Saarinen

Quarterly Review of Biology

A comprehensive account, with full-coloured photographs and clear drawings that are very useful for teachers and students.

— Evelyne Bremond-Hoslet & Christian Denys

Mammalia