| Neohipparion | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeleton of N. leptode at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Perissodactyla |
| Family: | Equidae |
| Subfamily: | Equinae |
| Tribe: | † Hipparionini |
| Genus: | † Neohipparion Gidley, 1903 |
| Type species | |
| Neohipparion affine (Leidy, 1869) | |
| Species | |
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| Synonyms | |
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Neohipparion (Greek: "new" (neos), "pony" (hipparion) [1] ) is an extinct genus of equid, [2] from the Neogene (Miocene to Pliocene) of North America and Central America. [3] [4] [5] [6] Fossils of this horse have been found in Texas, [7] [8] Florida, [8] [9] Kansas, [10] [11] South Dakota, [12] Montana, [13] Nevada, [14] Alabama, [15] Oregon, [16] and Mexico. [5] [17] This prehistoric species of equid grew up to lengths of 4.5 to 5 ft (1.4 to 1.5 m) long. [18] In Florida, Neohipparion lived in a savanna environment during the dry season but moved to a wet environment when it came time to mate. The average age of death for a newborn colt was 3.5 years, with a juvenile mortality rate of 64% during its first 2 years of existence. [19] Its diet consisted of grasses, C3 and C4 plants. [20] δ13C values from ‘’N. eurystyle’’ fossils found in Florida indicate that it fed almost exclusively on C4 grasses. [21]
