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 jaw

Epihippus
Temporal range: 46.2โ€“38.0 Ma Early Uintan to Duchesnean[1]
Epihippus gracilis jaw
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: โ€ Epihippus
Marsh, 1877
Species[1]
  • Epihippus gracilis
  • Epihippus intermedius
  • Epihippus uintensis
Synonyms
  • Duchesnehippus

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


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