Idaho: Equus simplicidens (state fossil)
Idaho: Equus simplicidens (state fossil)
The state fossil of Idaho is the Hagerman Horse, Equus simplicidens, one of the best-known early horses ever discovered. Horses evolved in North America and only went extinct here around 10,000 years ago, possibly due to disease or human predation; they were reintroduced by the Spanish conquistadors.
The Hagerman Horse lived in Idaho during the Pliocene Epoch, around 3.5 million years ago. It shared a grassy plains/riverine habitat with mastodons, sabertooth cats, beavers, otters, and waterfowl. The average Hagerman Horse was about the same size as a modern zebra or Arabian horse, and likely possessed a stiff mane and fur arrangement similar to that of these modern equines.
The Hagerman Horse is known from thousands of fossils concentrated along the Snake River. Pioneers travelling the Oregon Trail noted strange bones in the bluffs along the river, but Equus simplicidens did not become known to science until a cattle rancher named Elmer Cook discovered a cache of bones in 1928. Today the area is protected as Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument.
After a 1987 landslide endangered the site, Hagerman residents and other Idaho citizens called for protection and the designation of this horse as the state fossil. The governor responded by naming it the state fossil on March 16, 1988.
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