Merychippus

Merychippus
Temporal range: Miocene, 15.9–10.3 Ma
Skeletal reconstruction of Merychippus on display at the American Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Subfamily: Equinae
Genus: Merychippus
Leidy, 1856
Type species
Merychippus insignis
Leidy, 1856[1]
Species
Species
  • M. brevidontus Bode, 1935
  • M. calamarius Cope, 1875
  • M. californicus Merriam, 1915
  • M. coalingensis Clark, 1921
  • M. coloradense Osborn, 1918
  • M. eohipparion Osborn, 1918
  • M. eoplacidus Osborn, 1918
  • M. gunteri Simpson, 1930
  • M. insignis Cope, 1874
  • M. labrosus Cope, 1874
  • M. missouriensis Douglass, 1908
  • M. patrusus Osborn, 1918
  • M. primus Osborn, 1918
  • M. proparvulus Osborn, 1918
  • M. quartus Stirton, 1940
  • M. quintus Kelly and Lander, 1988
  • M. relictus Cope, 1889
  • M. republicanus Osborn, 1918
  • M. secundus Abel, 1928
  • M. sejunctus Cope, 1874
  • M. seversus Cope, 1878
  • M. stevensi Dougherty, 1940

Merychippus is an extinct proto-horse of the family Equidae that was endemic to North America during the Miocene, 15.97–5.33 million years ago.[2] It had three toes on each foot and is the first horse known to have grazed.

  1. ^ "Fossilworks: Merychippus insignis". Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Fossilworks: Merychippus". Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 17 December 2021.