Epihippus

fossil mammal genus

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June 26, 2026

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Epihippus was a genus of ancestral horses that lived during the Upper Eocene epoch. These mammals are known only from fragmentary remains. Epihippus had a prominent middle toe on each foot, with slender side toes. This genus is part of the evolutionary lineage of horses, which began with smaller, more primitive ancestors like Eohippus (dawn horse) during the Early Eocene. Miohippus, a larger descendant of earlier horse genera, also emerged during the Late Eocene.1234

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Evolution of the horse
…from the middle Eocene, and Epihippus, a genus from the late Eocene, resembled Eohippus in size and in the structure of the limbs. But the form of the cheek teeth—the four premolars and the three molars found in each half of both jaws—had changed somewhat. In Eohippus the premolars and…
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…from the middle Eocene, and Epihippus, a genus from the late Eocene, resembled Eohippus in size and in the structure of the limbs. But the form of the cheek teeth—the four premolars and the three molars found in each half of both jaws—had changed somewhat. In Eohippus the premolars and…
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