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Hyracotherium
Click here for more Hyracotherium Pictures
| Scientific Classification |
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Hyracotherium (also sometimes known as "Eohippus")
was a genus of mammalian herbivore that lived
in Asia, Europe,
and North America during the Eocene between about 60 and 45 million years ago.
It was once thought to be ancestral to horses, but today some scientists believe
that it may also be ancestral to rhinoceroses and tapirs.
Hyracotherium was about the size of a dog, around 9 inches (20 centimeters) tall
at the shoulder, and about 2 feet (60 centimeters) in length. It had four toes
on each of its front feet, and 3 toes on each hind foot.
Hyracotherium was named by
Sir Richard Owen in
1841 - its name means "Hyrax-like beast".
The alternate name, "Eohippus" was chosen by
Othniel C. Marsh
in 1876, and means "dawn horse".
Marsh
did not realize that the animal that he had named, was the same as
Hyracotherium, hence the different name - however, now that we know
that they are the same animal,
Hyracotherium takes priority, as it was the first name used.
One curious piece of trivia about Hyracotherium is that many books
describe the animal as being about the size of a fox terrier.
Stephen Jay Gould
once wrote an essay researching this curiously repeated description,
and concluded that it had first appeared in the writings of
Henry Fairfield Osborn,
and that many subsequent authors have simply repeated the description.
Hyracotherium were herbivorous (plant-eating) mammals that lived between 60 and 45 million years ago
Related Information & Resources
See Also
Hyracotherium Books
Here are some books from Amazon.com:
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By Marc Zabludoff
Benchmark Books
Library Binding (32 pages)
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By Jacob Lawson Wortman
Nabu Press
Paperback (40 pages)
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By Marc Zabludoff
Benchmark Books
Library Binding (2 pages)
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By Bruce J. MacFadden
Cambridge University Press
Paperback (384 pages)
 | List Price: $64.00*
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Click Here | Product Description:
The family Equidae have an extensive fossil record spanning the past 58 million years, and the evolution of the horse has frequently been used as a classic example of long-term evolution. In recent years, however, there have been many important discoveries of fossil horses, and these, in conjunction with such new methods as cladistics, and techniques such as precise geochronology, have allowed us to achieve a much greater understanding of the evolution and biology of this important group. This book synthesizes the large body of data and research relevant to an understanding of fossil horses from several disciplines including biology, geology and paleontology. Using horses as the central theme, the author weaves together in the text such topics as modern geochronology, paleobiogeography, climate change, evolution and extinction, functional morphology, and population biology during the Cenozoic period. This book will be exciting reading for researchers and graduate students in vertebrate paleontology, evolution, and zoology. |
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By Melanie Patton
CreateSpace
Paperback (104 pages)
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The evolution of the horse is long and complex but well covered in this textbook. The human influence is also discussed in the creation of modern day breeds. |
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By David B Kitts
[American Museum of Natural History]
Paperback (60 pages)
| Lowest Used Price: $10.00*
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By Kitts David B.
American Museum of Natural History ( AMNH )
Unknown Binding
| Lowest Used Price: $23.00*
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By David B. Kitts
[American Museum of Natural History]
Paperback
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By William J Morris
Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History
Unknown Binding (11 pages)
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By Jacob Lawson Wortman
Published by order of the Trustees, American Museum of Natural History
Unknown Binding
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