Orohippus

Orohippus (Gr., "mountain horse") is an extinct equid that lived in the Eocene (about 50 million years ago).

O. pumillus, AMNH

Orohippus
Temporal range: early to middle Eocene[1]
Skeleton of Orohippus pumillus at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: †Orohippus
Marsh, 1872
Type species
†Orohippus pumillus
Species[2]
  • †O. agilis
  • †O. major
  • †O. progressus
  • †O. proteros
  • †O. pumillus
  • †O. sylvaticus

It is believed to have evolved from equids such as Eohippus, as the earliest evidence for Orohippus appears about 2 million years after the first appearance of Eohippus. The anatomical differences between the two are slight: they were the same size, but Orohippus had a slimmer body, a more elongated head, slimmer forelimbs and longer hind legs, all of which are characteristics of a good jumper. Its teeth were brachydont in height, but the development of flattened surfaces and shearing lophs on their molars suggests they were more a browser than a frugivorous eater. [3] The outer toes of Eohippus are no longer present in Orohippus, hence on each forelimb there were four fingers (toes) and on each hind leg three toes.

Species of Orohippus has also been referred to Protorohippus.

See also

Notes
  1. MacFadden, 1998, p.554
  2. MacFadden, 1998, p.543
  3. Kitts, D. B.. 1957. A Revision of the Genus Orohippus (Perissodactyla, Equidae). American Museum Novelties, 1864:1–40.

References


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