Miohippus

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Miohippus
Miohippus skeleton
Temporal occurrence
Upper Eocene to Early Miocene
36 million years
Locations
North America
Systematics
Higher mammals (Eutheria) Laurasiatheria Unpaired ungulate (Perissodactyla) Horses (Equidae) Anchitheriinae Miohippus
Scientific name
Miohippus
Marsh , 1874

Miohippus ( Latinized from ancient Greek μείων ( meiōn ) "small" and ίππος ( hippos ) "horse", so "little horse" or "Horse of the Miocene") was a prehistoric horse that during the Tertiary in most areas of the then North America lived . Miohippus appeared around the same time as Mesohippus , but was much larger and had a longer skull.

Occur

Miohippus appeared from Mesohippus about 34 to 36 million years ago. He lived with Mesohippus for about four million years before he died out. During his lifetime, a total of 15 species of Mesohippus that were very similar to one another developed, which merged into 3 different lines and side branches about 24 million years ago. These direct descendants of Miohippus are Kalobatippus, Anchitherium and Archaeohippus. During his lifetime, Miohippus only appeared in the plains of North America. Since Miohippus was the last surviving climbing horse, his ankle region strengthened significantly over time.

Appearance

Miohippus was approximately 1.2 meters long, 60 cm tall and weighed between 22 and 34 kilograms. However, other estimates go well beyond this weight. He was the first animal to have the tooth comb that is still typical of horses today. Since, as with most Eocene mammals, the crown of teeth of the Miohippus was very low, it was believed that it was primarily a forest dweller. However, recent research has shown that the environmental mosaic of the time was much more complex than traditionally imagined. Since the bones of the Miohippus were found in almost all parts of North America, it can be concluded that Miohippus also appeared in much more complex environmental situations . Miohippus had 3 toes on each hoof.

species

• 

  Finds of the Miohippus; exhibited at the University of California Museum of Paleontology
  Miohippus anceps
• Miohippus annectens
• Miohippus assiniboiensis
• Miohippus condoni
• Miohippus equiceps
• Miohippus equinanus
• Miohippus gemmarosae
• Miohippus gidleyi
• Miohippus grandis
• Miohippus intermedius
• Miohippus longicristis
• Miohippus obliquidens
• Miohippus primus
• Miohippus quartus
• Miohippus taxus

Initially, the John Day Formation of Oregon assumed that there were eight different species of Miohippus. However, after a closer examination of the teeth, it was later found that only the teeth of one species of the Miohippus were in the samples examined.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Roger Short: The evolution of the horse . In: Journal of Reproduction and Fertility. Supplement . tape 23 , November 1, 1975, pp. 1-6 ( researchgate.net [accessed September 24, 2018]).
2. ^ The Evolution of the Horse: Species in History. October 27, 2009, accessed September 24, 2018 . 
3. ^ Deb Bennett, THE EVOLUTION OF THE HORSE: History and Techniques of Study. 2008, accessed September 24, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Miohippus Facts . In: ThoughtCo . ( thoughtco.com [accessed September 22, 2018]).
5. ↑ Evolution of the Horses. Retrieved September 22, 2018 . 
6. ↑ Bruce J. MacFadden: Fossil Horses: Systematics, Paleobiology, and Evolution of the Family Equidae . Cambridge University Press, 1994, ISBN 978-0-521-47708-6 ( google.de [accessed September 22, 2018]).
7. ↑ Fossil Works: Miohippus. Retrieved September 23, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Nicholas A. Famoso: Statistical analysis of dental variation in the Oligocene equid Miohippus (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) of Oregon. In: Cambrigde University Press. July 20, 2017, accessed September 22, 2018 .