Haringtonhippus francisci

A family of stilt-legged horses (Haringtonhippus francisci) in Yukon, Canada, during the last ice age is depicted in this illustration.

A well-preserved horse skull collected more than 86 years ago from a cave near Las Vegas is helping scientists identify a new type of extinct, stilt-legged horse that died out during the last ice age.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that scientists are calling it Haringtonhippus francisci after Richard Harington, an accomplished paleontologist who spent his career studying the ice age fossils of northern Canada and first described the stilt-legged horses in the early 1970s.

A team of researchers led by famed archaeologist Mark Harrington discovered the bone in the 1930s inside the Gypsum Cave east of Las Vegas.

Paleontologist Eric Scott says the fossil was initially mistaken for a modern specimen because it looked so fresh.

It was put away in museum collections, and was not revisited until recently.

+1 
genus Haringtonhippus

Two skulls of the new genus Haringtonhippus from Nevada (upper) and Texas (lower).

(0) comments

Welcome to the discussion.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming anotherperson will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyoneor anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ismthat is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link oneach comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitnessaccounts, the history behind an article.