Epihippus

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

Restoration of Epihippus (middle) and other animals of the Hancock Mammal Quarry

Epihippus
Temporal range: Early Uintan to Duchesnean[1]
Illustration of Epihippus gracilis skull and teeth
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: †Epihippus
Marsh, 1877
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. Epihippus fed on mostly insects, berries, and plant material as a browser and insectivore.[2][3] 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:[1]

  • Epihippus gracilis
  • Epihippus intermedius
  • Epihippus uintensis

References
  1. "Fossilworks: Epihippus". paleodb.org. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
  2. "Mindat.org". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  3. "Fossilworks: Epihippus (Duchesnehippus)". www.fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2022-10-02.


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