Editing Parahippus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = [[Miocene]], {{Fossil range|24|17}}
| image = Parahippus leonensis FLMNH.jpg
| image_caption = Reconstructed ''[[Parahippus leonensis|P. leonensis]]'' skeleton, [[Florida Museum of Natural History]]
| taxon = Parahippus
| authority = [[Joseph Leidy|Leidy]], 1858
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = * ''P. cognatus'' <small>Leidy, 1858</small>
* ''P. coloradoensis'' <small>Gidley, 1907</small>
* ''P. leonensis'' <small>Sellards, 1916</small>
* ''P. pawniensis'' <small>Gidley, 1907</small>
}}

'''''Parahippus''''' ("near to [[horse]]"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://research.amnh.org/paleontology/perissodactyl/concepts/glossary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120123130/https://research.amnh.org/paleontology/perissodactyl/concepts/glossary|archive-date=20 November 2021|title=Glossary. American Museum of Natural History}}</ref>), is an extinct [[equid]], a relative of modern horses, [[Donkey|ass]]es, and [[zebra]]s. It lived from 24 to 17 million years ago, during the [[Miocene]] epoch.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-02-16 |title=Parahippus |url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fossil-horses/gallery/parahippus/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=Florida Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> It was very similar to ''[[Miohippus]]'', but slightly larger, at around {{convert|1|m|hand|lk=on|0}} tall, at the [[withers]]. Their fossils have been found in North America, primarily in the [[Great Plains|Great Plains region]] and [[Florida]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-02-16|title=Parahippus|url=https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/fossil-horses/gallery/parahippus/|access-date=2022-02-07|website=Florida Museum|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Taxonomy ==
The following fossil species are known:

* '''''P. cognatus''''' <small>[[Joseph Leidy|Leidy]], 1858</small> ([[type species]]) - mid-[[Miocene]] ([[Hemingfordian]] to [[Barstovian]]) of Nebraska ([[Loup Fork Formation]]) & South Dakota ([[Batesland Formation]]), US<ref>{{Cite web |title=PBDB Taxon |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=44053 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref>
* '''''P. coloradoensis''''' <small>Gidley, 1907</small> - early-mid Miocene ([[Arikareean]] to Barstovian) of South Dakota ([[Rosebud Formation]]), Colorado ([[Pawnee Creek Formation]]), & Oregon ([[Butte Creek Formation]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=PBDB Taxon |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=txn:49836 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref>
* '''''[[Parahippus leonensis|P. leonensis]]''''' <small>Sellards, 1916</small> - early to mid-Miocene (Arikareean to Hemingfordian) of Florida ([[Torreya Formation]]), Delaware ([[Calvert Formation]]), Texas ([[Oakville Formation]]), Colorado ([[Browns Park Formation]]), & Oregon ([[John Day Formation]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=PBDB Taxon |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=txn:49839 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref>
* '''''P. pawniensis''''' <small>Gidley, 1907</small> - early-mid Miocene (Arikareean to Hemingfordian) of Colorado (Pawnee Creek Formation), Wyoming, South Dakota (Rosebud Formation), Nevada, California ([[Vaqueros Formation]]) & Oregon (John Day Formation)<ref>{{Cite web |title=PBDB Taxon |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=txn:49846 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref>
The former species ''P. tyleri'' <small>Loomis, 1908</small> is now placed in ''[[Desmatippus]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PBDB Taxon |url=https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicTaxonInfo?taxon_no=49851 |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=paleobiodb.org}}</ref>

== Description ==
[[File:Parahippus Cognatus.jpg|left|thumb|Skull of ''P. cognatus'', [[National Museum of Natural History]]]]
''Parahippus'' was larger than ''Miohippus'', with longer legs and face. The bones in the legs were fused and this, along with muscle development, allowed ''Parahippus'' to move with forward-and-back strides. Flexible leg rotation was eliminated, so that the animal was better adapted to fast forward running on open ground without moving from side to side. Most importantly, ''Parahippus'' was able to stand on its middle toe, instead of walking on pads, which gave it the ability to run faster; its weight was supported by ligaments under the [[fetlock]] to the big central toe.

Since leafy food had become scarce, these animals were forced to subsist on the newly evolved [[grass]]es that were by now taking over the plains, and their teeth adapted accordingly. The extra [[Molar (tooth)|molar]] crest that was variable in ''Miohippus'' became permanent in ''Parahippus''. The molars developed high crowns and a hard covering for grinding the grass, which was typically covered with high-silica dust and sand.<ref name=EoDP>{{cite book |editor=Palmer, D.|year=1999 |title= The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals|publisher= Marshall Editions|location=London|page= 256|isbn= 1-84028-152-9}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Paleontology}}
* [[Evolution of the horse]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
* [http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/horses/horse_evol.html Horse Evolution]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091027053552/http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/7841/horse_evol/others.html Evolution of the Horse]

{{Perissodactyla Genera|P.}}
{{Equidae extinct nav}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q942874}}
[[Category:Anchitheriinae]]
[[Category:Miocene horses]]
[[Category:Miocene Perissodactyla]]
[[Category:Transitional fossils]]
[[Category:White River Fauna]]
[[Category:Prehistoric placental genera]]
[[Category:Miocene genus extinctions]]
[[Category:Miocene mammals of North America]]
[[Category:Fossil taxa described in 1858]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Joseph Leidy]] 

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