Hipparionini

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Hipparionini
Temporal range: Early Miocene–Early Pleistocene
Hipparion sp. - Batallones 10 fossil site, Torrejon de Velasco, Madrid, Spain.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Subfamily: Equinae
Tribe: Hipparionini
Quinn, 1955
Genera

See text

Hipparionini is a tribe of three-toed horses in the subfamily Equinae. They had body forms similar to modern equines, with high-crowned teeth. They first appeared in North America during the Early Miocene around 17 million years ago, [1] before migrating into the Old World around 11.4-11.0 million years ago. [2] The youngest species date to the Early Pleistocene, becoming extinct following the arrives of modern equines of the genus Equus to the Old World. [3]

Contents

Description

Hipparionines varied widely in size, with the smallest species like Hipparion periafricanum having a body mass of only 23 kilograms (51 lb), considerably smaller than living equines, [4] while the largest species had body masses over 300 kilograms (660 lb). [2]

Evolutionary history

In North America, hipparionins were equally diverse to equins during the Middle Miocene but overtook them in species richness during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene. At the end of the Hemphillian, hipparionins severely declined in diversity. [5]

Ecology

In the Old World hipparionines were initially browsers and mixed feeders (both browsing and grazing), over time there was increasing proportion of pure grazers, though the groups ecology remained diverse, with mixed feeding being the dominant ecology during the Pliocene. [2]

Taxonomy

North American genera:

Old World genera: [1] (widely thought to descend from Cormohipparion [2] )

Related Research Articles

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<i>Stegodon</i> Genus of extinct proboscidean

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<i>Anancus</i> Genus of proboscideans

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<i>Hipparion</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Hipparion is an extinct genus of three-toed, medium-sized equine belonging to the extinct tribe Hipparionini, who lived about 10-5 million years ago. While the genus formerly included most hipparionines, the genus is now more narrowly defined as hipparionines from Eurasia spanning the Late Miocene. Hipparion was a mixed-feeder who ate mostly grass, and lived in the savannah biome. Hipparion evolved from Cormohipparion, and went extinct due to environmental changes like cooling climates and decreasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.

<i>Hippidion</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Hippidion is an extinct genus of equine that lived in South America from the Late Pliocene to the end of the Late Pleistocene (Lujanian), between 2.5 million and 11,000 years ago. They were one of two lineages of equines native to South America during the Pleistocene epoch, alongside Equus (Amerhippus) neogeus.

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<i>Cormohipparion</i> Extinct genus of horse

Cormohipparion is an extinct genus of horse belonging to the tribe Hipparionini that lived in North America during the late Miocene to Pliocene. They grew up to 3 feet long.

<i>Megahippus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

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<i>Eurygnathohippus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Eurygnathohippus is an extinct genus of hipparionine horse. 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. Fossils of Eurygnathohippus were also reported from the late Pliocene sediments of the Potwar Plateau in Pakistan and the Siwalik Hills in northwest India.

<i>Equus stenonis</i> Extinct species of mammal

Equus stenonis is an extinct species of equine that lived in Western Eurasia during the Early Pleistocene.

<i>Sivalhippus</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Sivalhippus is an extinct genus of horse that lived in Africa and the Indian subcontinent during the late Miocene.

<i>Proboscidipparion</i> Extinct genus of mammals

Proboscidipparion is an extinct genus of hipparionine equine. It is named after its unusual retracted nasal region of the skull, which may have supported a proboscis. Fossils have been found throughout Eurasia, from England to China. The oldest specimens are known from Asia, dating to the Early Pliocene, around 5.3-5 million years ago. The genus was one of the last surviving hipparionines, with the youngest specimen dating to the end of the Early Pleistocene, around 1 million years ago.

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Equus major is an extinct species of large equine native to Europe during the Early Pleistocene epoch.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Janis, Christine M.; Bernor, Raymond L. (2019-04-12). "The Evolution of Equid Monodactyly: A Review Including a New Hypothesis". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00119 . hdl: 1983/ede09e37-96f7-4baf-aec5-1bb7766a04e7 . ISSN   2296-701X.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bernor, Raymond L.; Kaya, Ferhat; Kaakinen, Anu; Saarinen, Juha; Fortelius, Mikael (October 2021). "Old world hipparion evolution, biogeography, climatology and ecology". Earth-Science Reviews. 221: 103784. Bibcode:2021ESRv..22103784B. doi: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2021.103784 .
  3. Cirilli, Omar; Pandolfi, Luca; Alba, David M.; Madurell-Malapeira, Joan; Bukhsianidze, Maia; Kordos, Laszlo; Lordkipanidze, David; Rook, Lorenzo; Bernor, Raymond L. (April 2023). "The last Plio-Pleistocene hipparions of Western Eurasia. A review with remarks on their taxonomy, paleobiogeography and evolution". Quaternary Science Reviews. 306: 107976. Bibcode:2023QSRv..30607976C. doi: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.107976 . S2CID   257594449.
  4. Orlandi-Oliveras, Guillem; Nacarino-Meneses, Carmen; Koufos, George D.; Köhler, Meike (2018-11-21). "Bone histology provides insights into the life history mechanisms underlying dwarfing in hipparionins". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 17203. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-35347-x. ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6249282 .
  5. Hulbert, Richard C. (Spring 1993). "Taxonomic evolution in North American Neogene horses (subfamily Equinae): the rise and fall of an adaptive radiation". Paleobiology . 19 (2): 216–234. doi:10.1017/S0094837300015888. ISSN   0094-8373 . Retrieved 27 November 2024 via Cambridge Core.