Webster's Online Dictionary
with Multilingual Thesaurus Translation

 
Earth's largest dictionary with more than 1226 modern languages and Eve!

Definition: MIOHIPPUS

Part of Speech Definition
Noun 1. An extinct Miocene mammal of the Horse family, closely related to the genus Anhithecrium, and having three usable hoofs on each foot.[Websters].

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

 Top

Date "Miohippus" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1903. (references)

Etymology:Miohippus \Mi`o*hip"pus\, noun. [New Latin expression, from the Greek expression less horse.]. (references)


Extended Definition: MIOHIPPUS

Miohippus

Miohippus[1]
Fossil range: late Eocene to early Oligocene

Miohippus is labeled as #3 in this paleobiome illustration by John Day.
Miohippus is labeled as #3 in this paleobiome illustration by John Day.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Genus: Miohippus
Marsh, 1874

Miohippus (meaning "small horse") (whose species are commonly referred to as the three-toed horses) was a genus of prehistoric horse that lived in what is now North America during the late Eocene to early Oligocene Period some 36 million years ago. It is believed to have branched off from Mesohippus, and the two coexisted for about four-eight million years.

Mesohippus had died out by the mid-Oligocene, and Miohippus became much larger than it. They weighed around 40 to 55 kilograms. They were somewhat larger than most earlier Eocene horse ancestors, but still much smaller than modern horses, which typically weigh about 500 kilograms.

Miohippus was larger than Mesohippus and had a slightly longer skull. Its facial fossa was deeper and more expanded, and the ankle joint was subtly different. Miohippus also had a variable extra crest on its upper molars, which gave it a larger surface area for chewing tougher forage. This would become a typical characteristic of the teeth of later equine species.

Miohippus had two forms, one of which adjusted to the life in forests, while the other remained suited to life on prairies. The forest form led to the birth of Kalobatippus (or Miohippus intermedius), whose second and fourth finger again elongated for travel on the softer primeval forest grounds. The Kalobatippus managed to relocate to Asia via the Bering Strait land bridge, and from there moved into Europe, where its fossils were formerly described under the name Anchitherium. Kalobatippus is then believed to have evolved into a form known as Hyohippus, which became extinct near the beginning of the Pliocene.

See also

  • Evolution of the horse

References

  1. McKenna, M. C, and S. K. Bell (1997). Classification of Mammals Above the Species Level. Columbia University Press. ISBN 023111012X. 

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Miohippus". Image Credit.
 bookmark   email   print   tweet   facebook  



Topics by Level of Interest: MIOHIPPUS

Topics sorted by level of Interest Level (1=low, 600=high)     Topics sorted Alphabetically Level (1=low, 600=high)
Miohippus 7     Miohippus 7

Source: the editor, created by/for EVE to gauge likely levels of human interest in linguistically triggered topics (compiled across various sources, such as Wikipedia and specialty expression glosses).