Hipparion

The Hipparion one is équidé extinct, whose fossil remainders are known in North America, in Europe, in Asia and Africa in grounds which go from the medium of the Miocène in the middle of the Pléistocène.

A horse which knew a great success

The extraordinary success of this horse in the evolution is attested by the extreme abundance of the fossil remainders allotted to this kind and the vast space-time cover in which the skeletons were found. The hipparion, indeed, was one of the most widespread herbivores of its time. With on average a height of 1,4 meter to the garrot, the hipparion resembled a current horse much, but like its ancestors Mesohippus and Merychippus it had three more fingers, of which the median finger the most was developed by far. It is thus about a collateral branch which knew a great success in the long story of the evolution of équidés, but which is however extinct without leaving descent.

Diversification of the forms

The teeth of the hipparion have complicated enamel folds, a characteristic of a advanced evolution. The cranium present of the small cavities préorbitales with a different development according to the species, and one knows some forms of which the shape of the bones of the nose to make think of the presence of a short horn. These forms were joined together in a particular kind, Proboscidipparions, characteristic of Asia of the end of the Pliocène and beginning of Pleistocene. Some paleontologists, of effects, propose to subdivide the very many species of hipparions known in more distinct kinds, but the systematic one of this group is nothing less than clear.

Migrations through continents

The hipparion is of considerable chronological interest since, there are approximately 11 My, it migrated through the isthmus of Bering to go to colonize the Eurasia and Africa with an exceptional speed, supported by the fact that new mediums of meadow were replacing the large forests. The arrival of these animals in the Old world marked a fundamental stage in history of the paléofaunes, and it is possible that this large vagueness dating average Miocène was followed by others. India, isolated by assembly lines, was colonized by Hipparions later, approximately 9,5 million years ago. The decline of Hipparions and the similar kinds occurred during Pliocène, when the horses more developed monodactyles, like Dinohippus and Equus , made their appearance and supplanted the tridactyl horses.

Sources

Random links: