The role of climate change in the extinction of the last wild equids of Europe: Palaeoecology of Equus ferus and Equus hydruntinus during the Last Glacial Period
Journal: Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology
Year: 2023

The last European wild equids —Equus ferus and Equus hydruntinus— were among the large mammals (or megafauna) that became extinct during the Late Quaternary Extinction Event disappearing from Europe during the Holocene. The role that the combined action of the major climatic changes of the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition and the human activities played in their extinction is not fully understood. The reduction of steppe-like biomes in Europe following the increase of mean global temperatures dur