Hippotherium is an extinct genus of horse that lived in during the Miocene through Pliocene ~13.65—6.7 Mya, existing for 6.95 million years.

Hippotherium
Temporal range: 15–11 Ma
Middle to Late Miocene
Skeleton of Hippotherium primigenium, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Subfamily: Equinae
Tribe: Hipparionini
Genus: Hippotherium
Kaup, 1832
Species
  • H. primigenius (von Meyer, 1829) (type species)
  • H. weihoense (Liu et al. 1978)
  • H. koenigswaldi (Sondaar, 1961)
  • H. catalaunicum (Perlot, 1956)

The last known surviving Hippotherium was H. malpassii, found in Italy.[1]

Species edit

 
Jaw and teeth
 
Metapodial
 
 
Skull
 
Skeleton of H. primigenius

The type species, H. primigenium, is known from Miocene deposits in Europe and the Middle East, while the species H. koenigswaldi and H. catalaunicum have been found in Miocene deposits in Spain.[citation needed] The Asian hipparionin "Hipparion" weihoense from early Late Miocene deposits in northern China has also been referred to the genus.[2]

Diet edit

H. primigenium was a generalist feeder which frequently browsed but could also exploit grasses.[3]

Fossil distribution edit

  • Doue-la-Fontaine France estimated age: ~13.65—7.25 Mya.
  • Lower Bakhtiari Formation, northern Iraq, estimated age: ~11.6—9.0 Mya.
  • Kurtchuk-Tchekmedje, Turkey estimated age: ~11.61—5.33 Mya.

References edit

  1. ^ Bernor, Raymond L.; Kaya, Ferhat; Kaakinen, Anu; Saarinen, Juha; Fortelius, Mikael (2021). "Old world hipparion evolution, biogeography, climatology and ecology". Earth-Science Reviews. 221. Bibcode:2021ESRv..22103784B. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103784. hdl:10138/335765. S2CID 239657555.
  2. ^ Raymond L. Bernor; Shiqi Wang; Yan Liu; Yu Chen; Boyang Sun (2018). "Shanxihippus dermatorhinus comb. nov. with comparisons to old world hipparions with specialized nasal apparati". Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. 124 (2): 361–386. doi:10.13130/2039-4942/10202.
  3. ^ Tütken, Thomas; Kaiser, Thomas M.; Vennemann, Torsten; Merceron, Gildas (11 September 2013). Ungar, Peter Stuart (ed.). "Opportunistic Feeding Strategy for the Earliest Old World Hypsodont Equids: Evidence from Stable Isotope and Dental Wear Proxies". PLoS ONE. 8 (9): e74463. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...874463T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0074463. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3770545. PMID 24040254.