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Epihippus
''Epihippus'' is an extinct genus of the modern horse family Equidae that lived in the Eocene, from 46 to 38 million years ago. ''Epihippus'' is believed to have evolved from ''Orohippus'', which continued the evolutionary trend of increasingly efficient grinding teeth. ''Epihippus'' had five grinding, low-crowned cheek teeth with well-formed crests. A late species of ''Epihippus'', sometimes referred to as ''Duchesnehippus intermedius'', had teeth similar to Oligocene equids, although slightly less developed. Epihippus fed on mostly insects, berries, and plant material as a browser and insectivore. Whether ''Duchesnehippus'' was a subgenus of ''Epihippus'' or a distinct genus is disputed. This is an early species of a horse. There are three species: * ''Epihippus gracilis'' * ''Epihippus intermedius'' * ''Epihippus uintensis'' References Eocene horses Eocene odd-toed ungulates Eocene mammals of North America Paleogene United States Prehistoric placental genera Extin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equidae
Equidae (sometimes known as the horse family) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, asses, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus '' Equus'', which originated in North America. Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and several extinct families. The term equid refers to any member of this family, including any equine. Evolution The oldest known fossils assigned to Equidae were found in North America, and date from the early Eocene epoch, 54 million years ago. They were once assigned to the genus ''Hyracotherium'', but the type species of that genus is now regarded as a palaeothere. The other species have been split off into different genera. These early equids were fox-sized animals with three toes on the hind feet, and four on the front feet. They were herbivorous browsers on relatively soft plants, and already adapte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
