Parahippus ("near to horse"[1]), is an extinct equid, a relative of modern horses, asses and zebras. It lived from 24 to 17 million years ago, during the Miocene epoch.[2] It was very similar to Miohippus, but slightly larger, at around 1 metre (10 hands) tall, at the withers. Their fossils have been found in North America, primarily in the Great Plains region and Florida.[3]
Parahippus was larger than Miohippus, with longer legs and face. The bones in the legs were fused and this, along with muscle development, allowed Parahippus to move with forward-and-back strides. Flexible leg rotation was eliminated, so that the animal was better adapted to fast forward running on open ground without moving from side to side. Most importantly, Parahippus was able to stand on its middle toe, instead of walking on pads, which gave it the ability to run faster; its weight was supported by ligaments under the fetlock to the big central toe.
Since leafy food had become scarce, these animals were forced to subsist on the newly evolved grasses that were by now taking over the plains, and their teeth adapted accordingly. The extra molar crest that was variable in Miohippus became permanent in Parahippus. The molars developed high crowns and a hard covering for grinding the grass, which was typically covered with high-silica dust and sand.[4]
^Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 256. ISBN1-84028-152-9.
parahippus, near, horse, extinct, equid, relative, modern, horses, asses, zebras, lived, from, million, years, during, miocene, epoch, very, similar, miohippus, slightly, larger, around, metre, hands, tall, withers, their, fossils, have, been, found, north, am. Parahippus near to horse 1 is an extinct equid a relative of modern horses asses and zebras It lived from 24 to 17 million years ago during the Miocene epoch 2 It was very similar to Miohippus but slightly larger at around 1 metre 10 hands tall at the withers Their fossils have been found in North America primarily in the Great Plains region and Florida 3 ParahippusTemporal range Lower Miocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Parahippus cognatus skull Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Chordata Class Mammalia Order Perissodactyla Family Equidae Subfamily Anchitheriinae Genus ParahippusLeidy 1858Description edit nbsp Skeleton of Parahippus tyleri Parahippus was larger than Miohippus with longer legs and face The bones in the legs were fused and this along with muscle development allowed Parahippus to move with forward and back strides Flexible leg rotation was eliminated so that the animal was better adapted to fast forward running on open ground without moving from side to side Most importantly Parahippus was able to stand on its middle toe instead of walking on pads which gave it the ability to run faster its weight was supported by ligaments under the fetlock to the big central toe Since leafy food had become scarce these animals were forced to subsist on the newly evolved grasses that were by now taking over the plains and their teeth adapted accordingly The extra molar crest that was variable in Miohippus became permanent in Parahippus The molars developed high crowns and a hard covering for grinding the grass which was typically covered with high silica dust and sand 4 See also edit nbsp Paleontology portal Evolution of the horseReferences edit Glossary American Museum of Natural History Archived from the original on 20 November 2021 Parahippus Florida Museum 2018 02 16 Retrieved 2022 10 04 Parahippus Florida Museum 2018 02 16 Retrieved 2022 02 07 Palmer D ed 1999 The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals London Marshall Editions p 256 ISBN 1 84028 152 9 Horse Evolution Evolution of the Horse nbsp This prehistoric odd toed ungulate related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte nbsp This equine related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Parahippus amp oldid 1191078589, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
