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Equidae

Photos

Photo Gallery

Neohipparion sp.

Cherry County, Nebraska, USA

Mesohippus sp.

Sioux County, Nebraska, USA

Neohipparion sp.

Cherry County, Nebraska, USA

Mesohippus sp.

Sioux County, Nebraska, USA

Neohipparion sp.

Cherry County, Nebraska, USA

Mesohippus sp.

Sioux County, Nebraska, USA

Source Data

Source	ID	Link
Global Biodiversity Information Facility ID (GBIF)	Not linked to a GBIF record.
PaleoBioDB ID (PBDB)	42984	https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=42984

Rank

family (PBDB)

Taxonomy (PBDB)

Life : Animalia : Chordata : Mammalia : Perissodactyla : Equidae

Classification
(PBDB,GBIF)

Rank	Name	Author
-	Eukaryota
-	Opisthokonta	Cavalier-Smith 1987
kingdom	Animalia
-	Triploblastica	Lankester 1877
-	Nephrozoa	Jondelius et al. 2002
-	Deuterostomia	Grobben 1908
phylum	Chordata	Haeckel 1847
subphylum	Vertebrata	Lamarck 1801
superclass	Gnathostomata	Gegenbauer 1874
-	Osteichthyes
-	Sarcopterygii	Romer 1955
subclass	Dipnotetrapodomorpha
subclass	Tetrapodomorpha
-	Tetrapoda
-	Reptiliomorpha	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Anthracosauria	Säve-Söderbergh 1934
-	Batrachosauria
-	Cotylosauria
-	Amniota	Haeckel 1866
-	Synapsida	Osborn 1903
-	Therapsida
infraorder	Cynodontia
-	Epicynodontia	Hopson and Kitching 2001
infraorder	Eucynodontia	Kemp 1982
-	Probainognathia	Hopson 1990
-	Mammaliamorpha	Rowe 1988
-	Mammaliaformes	Rowe 1988
class	Mammalia	Linnaeus 1758
subclass	Tribosphenida
infraclass	Eutheria
-	Placentalia	Owen 1837
order	Perissodactyla
suborder	Lophodontomorpha	Hooker and Dashzeveg 2004
infraorder	Euperissodactyla	Hooker and Dashzeveg 2004
-	Hippomorpha
superfamily	Equoidea	Hay 1902
family	Equidae	Gray 1821

Common Name

horse

Opinions (PBDB)

Name	Rank	Opinion	Evidence	Author
Equidae	family	belongs to Monochenae	stated without evidence	Gray, 1821
Equidae	family	belongs to Ungulata	stated without evidence	Gray, 1825
Equidae	family	belongs to Belluae	stated without evidence	Bonaparte, 1850
Equidae	family	belongs to Solidungula	stated with evidence	Leidy, 1873
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	stated without evidence	Cope, 1881
Equidae	family	belongs to Equoidea	stated without evidence	Hay, 1902
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	stated without evidence	Lambe, 1908
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	stated with evidence	Quinn, 1955
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	stated without evidence	Quinn, 1957
Equidae	family	belongs to Hippomorpha	stated without evidence	Thurmond and Jones, 1981
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	stated without evidence	MacFadden, 1986
Equidae	family	belongs to Equoidea	implied	Carroll, 1988
Equidae	family	belongs to Equoidea	stated without evidence	Prothero and Schoch, 1989
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	implied	Nowak, 1991
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	stated without evidence	Baskin, 1991
Equidae	family	belongs to Hippomorpha	stated without evidence	Froehlich, 2002
Equidae	family	belongs to Equoidea	stated with evidence	Hooker and Dashzeveg, 2004
Equidae	family	belongs to Equoidea	stated without evidence	Franzen, 2006
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	implied	Hulbert and Whitmore, 2006
Equidae	family	belongs to Perissodactyla	stated without evidence	MacFadden, 2009

Status (PBDB)

extant

Taxon Size (PBDB)

394

Extant Size (PBDB)

30 (7.6%)

First Recorded Appearance

56.0 - 50.3 Ma
Eocene

Environment

terrestrial (based on Eutheria)

Motility

actively mobile (based on Osteichthyes)

Diet

browser (based on Equidae)

Ecospace Comments

modern Equus is a grazer (Nowak 1999), but the primitive condition for the family is browsing

Taphonomy

phosphatic (based on Vertebrata)

Primary Reference (PBDB)

J. E. Gray. 1821. On the natural arrangement of vertebrose animals. The London Medical Repository Monthly Journal and Review 15:296-310

Fossil Distribution

Subtaxa

Name	Status	Common Name(s)	Fossil Occurrences	Oldest	Youngest
Anchitheriinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)	Anchitheriine Horse	632	46.2 Ma Eocene	0.13 Ma Pleistocene
Equinae subfamily	listed (PBDB)		4,519	23.0 Ma Miocene	0 Ma Extant
Hyracotheriinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)		39	56.0 Ma Paleocene	37.2 Ma Eocene
Protohippinae ✝ subfamily	listed (PBDB)
Duchesnehippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		3	46.2 Ma Eocene	40.4 Ma Eocene
Eohippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		56	55.8 Ma Eocene	55.8 Ma Eocene
Epihippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		33	46.2 Ma Eocene	40.4 Ma Eocene
Erihippus ✝ genus	listed (PBDB)		1	55.8 Ma Eocene	55.8 Ma Eocene
Gobihippus ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Hipphaplus ✝ genus	listed (PBDB)
Lophiopus ✝ genus	doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Minippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		18	55.8 Ma Eocene	55.8 Ma Eocene
Orohippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		67	55.8 Ma Eocene	46.2 Ma Eocene
Plesiohipparion ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		2	5.33 Ma Miocene	3.20 Ma Pliocene
Pliolophus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		7	56.0 Ma Paleocene	55.8 Ma Eocene
Protorohippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		31	55.8 Ma Eocene	55.8 Ma Eocene
Sifrhippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		437	56.0 Ma Paleocene	55.8 Ma Eocene
Sivalhippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)
Xenicohippus ✝ genus	accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB)		31	55.8 Ma Eocene	50.3 Ma Eocene

Synonymy List

Year	Name and Author
1821	Equidae Gray p. 307
1825	Equidae Gray p. 342
1850	Equidae Bonaparte p. 1
1873	Equidae Leidy p. 321
1881	Equidae Cope p. 400
1883	Equidae Flower p. 185
1889	Equidae Cope p. 876
1891	Equidae Flower and Lydekker p. 90
1902	Equidae Hay p. 608
1908	Equidae Lambe
1950	Equidae Lance
1955	Equidae Quinn
1957	Equidae Quinn p. 10
1958	Equidae Mooser p. 360
1966	Equidae Johnson p. 80
1968	Equidae Mooser p. 1

Year	Name and Author
1980	Equidae Kurten and Anderson p. 283
1981	Equidae Thurmond and Jones p. 183
1986	Equidae MacFadden p. 467
1988	Equidae Carroll
1989	Equidae Prothero and Schoch p. 531
1991	Equidae Baskin p. 999
1991	Equidae Nowak
2002	Equidae Froehlich p. 159 fig. 1
2004	Equidae Hooker and Dashzeveg p. 1374
2006	Equidae Franzen
2006	Equidae Hulbert and Whitmore p. 13
2009	Equidae MacFadden
2012	Equidae Rose et al.
2014	Equidae Ferrusquía-Villafranca et al. p. 204
2015	Equidae Dos Santos Avilla et al. pp. 925909-3
2018	Equidae Eshelman et al. p. 8

References

Gray J. E. On the natural arrangement of vertebrose animals, The London Medical Repository Monthly Journal and Review 15, 296-310

Gray J. E. An outline of an attempt at the disposition of Mammalia into Tribes and Families, with a list of genera apparently appertaining to each Tribe, Annals of Philosophy, new series 10, 337-344

Bonaparte C.-L. , Conspectus Systematis Mastozoologiae. Editio Altera Reformata [Survey of the system of mammals. Second revised edition]. E. J. Brill, Leyden, 1

Leidy J. Part I. Contributions to the extinct vertebrate fauna of the western territories, Report of the United States Geological Survey of the Territories 1, 1-358

Cope E. D. The systematic arrangement of the Order Perissodactyla, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 19 108, 377-401

Flower W. H. On the arrangement of the Orders and Families of existing Mammalia, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1883, 178-186

Cope E. D. Synopsis of the families of Vertebrata, The American Naturalist 23, 1-29

Hay O. P. (1902) , Bibliography and Catalogue of the Fossil Vertebrata of North America. Bulletin of the United States Geological Survey 179, 1-868

Lambe L. M. (1908) The Vertebrata of the Oligocene of the Cypress Hills, Saskatchewan, Contributions to Canadian Palaeontology 3 4, 1-65 doi:10.5962/bhl.title.61444

Lance J. F. (1950) Paleontologia Y Estratigrafia Del Plioceno De Yepomera, Estado De Chihuahua. 1A Parte: Equidos, Excepto Neohipparion, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Geología, Boletín 54, 1-81

Quinn J. H. (1955) Miocene Equidae of the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas Report of Investigations 5516, 1-102

Quinn J. H. (1957) Pleistocene Equidae of Texas, Bureau of Economic Geology, The University of Texas Report of Investigations 33, 1-47

Mooser O. (1958) Una zebra fosil de la Mesa Central de Mexico, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Biología, Anales 28, 359-363

Johnson G. D. (1966) Small mammals of the Middle Oligocene of the Big Badlands of South Dakota, Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Sciences 45, 78-83

Mooser O. (1968) Fossil Equidae from the Middle Pliocene of the Central Plateau of Mexico, The Southwestern Naturalist 13 1, 1-12 doi:10.2307/3668809

Kurten B., Anderson E. (1980) , Pleistocene mammals of North America, 1-442

Thurmond J. T., Jones D. E. (1981) , Fossil Vertebrates of Alabama, 1-244

MacFadden B. J. (1986) Late Hemphillian monodactyl horses (Mammalia, Equidae) from the Bone Valley Formation of Central Florida, Journal of Paleontology 60 2, 466-475

Carroll R. L. (1988) , Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution, 1-698

Prothero D. R., Schoch R. M. (1989) Classification of the Perissodactyla, The Evolution of Perissodactyla, 530-537

Nowak R. M. (1991) Walker's Mammals of the World, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press (edited volume) II

Froehlich D. J. (2002) Quo vadis Eohippus? The systematics and taxonomy of the early Eocene equids (Perissodactyla), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 134, 141-256 doi:10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00005.x

Hooker J. J., Dashzeveg D. (2004) The origin of chalicotheres (Perissodactyla, Mammalia), Palaeontology 47 6, 1363-1387 doi:10.1111/j.0031-0239.2004.00421.x

Franzen J. L. (2006) Eurohippus n.g., a new genus of horses from the Middle to Late Eocene of Europe, Senckenbergiana Lethaea 86 1, 97-102

Hulbert R. C., Whitmore F. C. (2006) Late Miocene mammals from the Mauvilla Local Fauna, Alabama, Bulletin of the Florida Museum of Natural History 46 1, 1-28

MacFadden B. J. (2009) Three-Toed Browsing Horse Anchitherium (Equidae) From the Miocene of Panama, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 83 3, 489-492 doi:10.1666/08-155.1

Rose K. D., Chew A. E., et al (2012) Earliest Eocene mammalian fauna from the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum at Sand Creek Divide, southern Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, University of Michigan Papers on Paleontology 36, 1-122

Ferrusquía-Villafranca I., Ruiz-González J. E., et al (2014) A new Miocene local fauna from the Sierra Madre Oriental at San Luis Potosí, Central-East Mexico, and its paleontologic significance, Geobios 47 4, 199-220 doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2014.06.004

Dos Santos Avilla L., Bernardes C., et al (2015) A new genus for Onohippidium galushai Macfadden and Skinner, 1979 (Mammalia, Equidae), from the late Hemphillian of North America, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35 3, e925909 doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.925909

Eshelman R. E., Lowery D., et al (2018) Late Pleistocene (Rancholabrean) Mammalian Assemblage from Paw Paw Cove, Tilghman Island, Maryland, Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology 102, 1-15

Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!

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