Feeding habits and mobility of Equus conversidens and E. mexicanus from La Presita Blanca, State of San Luis Potosí, México Article uri icon

abstract

  • The aim of this study is to determine the feeding habits and home range of fossil horses (Equus conversidens and E. mexicanus) from La Presita Blanca, San Luis Potosí, central México. For this purpose, we used carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope ratios. We compared 87Sr/86Sr from horses with strontium ratios of La Presita Blanca plants and soils to identify if these animals were local or came from elsewhere. The δ13C values indicate that E. conversidens specimen consumed C4 plants and E. mexicanus was a mixed feeder. In this case, carbon isotopic values reflect only the animal’s feeding preferences and not the type of vegetation that existed in La Presita Blanca during the Pleistocene. Furthermore, δ18O values and strontium isotopic ratios show that E. conversidens was an animal that could be local to the Campo Volcánico de San Luis Potosí whereas E. mexicanus came from another region. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor %26 Francis Group.
  • The aim of this study is to determine the feeding habits and home range of fossil horses (Equus conversidens and E. mexicanus) from La Presita Blanca, San Luis Potosí, central México. For this purpose, we used carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotope ratios. We compared 87Sr/86Sr from horses with strontium ratios of La Presita Blanca plants and soils to identify if these animals were local or came from elsewhere. The δ13C values indicate that E. conversidens specimen consumed C4 plants and E. mexicanus was a mixed feeder. In this case, carbon isotopic values reflect only the animal’s feeding preferences and not the type of vegetation that existed in La Presita Blanca during the Pleistocene. Furthermore, δ18O values and strontium isotopic ratios show that E. conversidens was an animal that could be local to the Campo Volcánico de San Luis Potosí whereas E. mexicanus came from another region. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

publication date

  • 2022-01-01