Epihippus

Epihippus
Temporal range: 46.2–38.0 Ma

Early Uintan to Duchesnean[1]

Epihippus gracilis jaw
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Subfamily: †Hyracotheriinae
Genus: Epihippus
Marsh, 1877
Species[1]
  • Epihippus gracilis
  • Epihippus intermedius
  • Epihippus uintensis
Synonyms
  • Duchesnehippus

Epihippus is an extinct genus of the modern horse family Equidae that lived in the Eocene, from 46 to 38 million years ago.

Epihippus jaw

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. Whether Duchesnehippus was a subgenus of Epihippus or a distinct genus is disputed. This is an early species of a horse.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Fossilworks: Epihippus". paleodb.org. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
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