Parahippus

Parahippus

Taxobox
name = "Parahippus"
fossil_range = Early Miocene
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Perissodactyla
familia = Equidae
genus = "Parahippus"

"Parahippus" is an extinct relative of the modern horse, very similar to "Miohippus", but slightly larger.

About 20 million years ago, during the Miocene Period, the earth was drastically changing: great plains were developing, forests were thinning out, mountains were forming, and swamps were drying up. Fact|date=February 2007 It is believed these developments affected many changes in the existing horse ancestors. Fact|date=February 2007

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. Fact|date=February 2007

"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. The side toes were almost vestigial, and seldom touched the ground. Fact|date=February 2007

ee also

* Evolution of the horse

References

* [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/horses/horse_evol.html Horse Evolution]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/7841/horse_evol/others.html Evolution of the Horse]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Parahippus — Parahippus …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Parahippus — Parahippus …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Parahippus — Pa|ra|hip|pus der; <aus nlat. parahippus zu ↑para... u. gr. híppos »Pferd«> ausgestorbene Gattung nordamerik. Pferdevorfahren aus dem ↑Miozän …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • Parahippus leonensis — Taxobox name = Parahippus leonensis fossil range = Mid Oligocene to Early Miocene regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Mammalia ordo = Herbivore familia = Equidae subfamilia = †Anchitheriinae genus = † Parahippus species = † P. leonensis …   Wikipedia

  • Parahippus — Parahịppus   [griechisch híppos »Pferd«], ausgestorbene Gattung altmiozäner nordamerikanischer Pferdevorfahren von etwa 70 cm Schulterhöhe; dreizehig, mit noch ziemlich niedrigkronigem Gebiss …   Universal-Lexikon

  • parahippus — para·hippus …   English syllables

  • parahippus — |parə|hipəs noun Usage: capitalized Etymology: New Latin, from para (I) + hippus : a genus of Miocene horses intermediate in structure between the genera Miohippus and Merychippus and having three digits on each foot …   Useful english dictionary

  • Evolution of the horse — This image shows a representative sequence but should not be construed to represent a straight line evolution of the horse. Reconstruction, left forefoot skeleton (third digit emphasized yellow) and longitudinal section of molars of selected… …   Wikipedia

  • horse — horseless, adj. horselike, adj. /hawrs/, n., pl. horses, (esp. collectively) horse, v., horsed, horsing, adj. n. 1. a large, solid hoofed, herbivorous quadruped, Equus caballus, domesticated since prehistoric times, bred in a number of varieties …   Universalium

  • Histoire des équidés — Histoire évolutive des équidés Présentation fossile d espèce de la lignée ayant conduit à celle des chevaux. La famille des Équidés (Equidae) recouvre toutes les espèces de la famille du cheval domestique, les chevaux sauvages, les ânes et les… …   Wikipédia en Français

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