Equus major

Equus major is an extinct species of very large equine that lived in Europe during the Early Pleistocene. It was first recognised in 1893 as a race of Equus stenonis, from remains found near Chagny in France, and a replacement name proposed in 1954, Equus bressanus, was later judged to rank below the 1893 naming. It is considered a stenonine equine with a close relationship to other Early Pleistocene European equines, and in particular to the later Equus suessenbornensis. Adults are estimated to have weighed from about 500 kilograms to over 800 kilograms in the largest individuals, and the limb bones are massive. Fossils are known from France, Britain and the Netherlands in the west to Romania and southern Russia, spanning about 2.6 million to 1.8 million years ago. Unlike living equines, dental wear suggests a diet ranging from browsing to mixed feeding, and the species is suggested to have lived in forested, humid environments.