Eurygnathohippus
Extinct genus of mammals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eurygnathohippus is an extinct genus of hipparionine horse.[2][1] The majority of known fossils of members of this genus were discovered in Africa, where members of this genus lived during the late Miocene to Pleistocene interval.[1][3] Fossils of Eurygnathohippus were also reported from the late Pliocene sediments of the Potwar Plateau in Pakistan and the Siwalik Hills in northwest India.[4]
| Eurygnathohippus Temporal range: Late Miocene-Pleistocene, | |
|---|---|
| |
| H. afarense skull | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Equidae |
| Subfamily: | Equinae |
| Tribe: | †Hipparionini |
| Genus: | †Eurygnathohippus Van Hoepen, 1930 |
| Species | |
| |
Palaeobiology
Life history
The osteohistology of E. hooijeri from Langebaanweg suggests that it had a slow life history, with its ages of weaning, skeletal maturity, and reproductive maturity being reached relatively late when compared to extant members of Equus and to three-toed equids in Europe. Adults of the species had low extrinsic mortality, but juveniles would have experienced high mortality rates.[5]
