Key facts
- Horses originated in North America millions of years ago.
- An extinct lineage, the Dalian horse, found in China, possessed American ancestry.
- The Dalian horse acted as a genetic intermediary, passing North American ancestry to Eurasian horse populations.
- This genetic exchange suggests European horses inherited their American roots through this Chinese lineage.
A new fossil DNA study challenges the long-held belief that horses were solely a European import to the Americas. The research indicates that horses first originated in North America millions of years ago. The study highlights the Dalian horse, an extinct lineage previously considered a local anomaly in northeastern China, as a crucial genetic link.
Researchers found that the Dalian horse possessed a distinct American ancestry. This lineage then facilitated the transfer of these North American genetic traits to ancient horse populations in Siberia. Consequently, the bloodlines that eventually led to modern European horses appear to have acquired their American roots through this Chinese intermediary.
The findings suggest that the Dalian horse likely served as a pathway for North American-related genetic ancestry to enter Northeast Eurasian horse populations. This positions the Dalian horse as a key element in understanding late Pleistocene equid evolution in Northeast Asia and the dynamics of genetic exchange across the Bering Strait.