Home Previous Random Next Search
OROHIPPUS
(ore-oh-hip-us)
meaning: "Mountain horse"
Orohippus
Named By: Othniel Charles Marsh in 1872
Time Period: early to middle Eocene[1]
Location: USA
Size: Around 60 centimetres high at the shoulder
Diet: Herbivore
Fossil(s): Multiple specimens
Classification: | Chordata | Mammalia | Perissodactyla | Equidae | Hyracotheriinae |
Also known as: | Helohippus | Helotherium | Oligotomus | Orotherium |
About

Orohippus (Gr., "mountain horse") is an extinct equid that lived in the Eocene (about 50 million years ago).

It is believed to have evolved from equids such as Eohippus, as the earliest evidence for Orohippus appears about 2 million years after the first appearance of Eohippus. The anatomical differences between the two are slight: they were the same size, but Orohippus had a slimmer body, a more elongated head, slimmer forelimbs and longer hind legs, all of which are characteristics of a good jumper. The upper premolars of Orohippus are more molariform (flat-surfaced) than in Eohippus, giving Orohippus more teeth for grinding, and the crests on the teeth are more pronounced, indicating that Orohippus probably fed on tougher plants. The outer toes of Eohippus are no longer present in Orohippus, hence on each forelimb there were four fingers (toes) and on each hind leg three toes.

Species of Orohippus has also been referred to Protorohippus.

Read more about Orohippus at Wikipedia
PaleoCodex is a weekend hack by Saurav Mohapatra