Whatever you call it, Hyracotherium (or Eohippus) was clearly ancestral to all modern-day horses, as well as the numerous species of prehistoric horse (like Epihippus and Merychippus) that roamed the North American and Eurasian plains of the Tertiary and Quaternary periods. Marsh, gave a similar skeleton the more appropriate name Eohippus ("dawn horse"), but since the two beasts turned out to be identical, by the rules the name has reverted to the earlier, mistaken one. A few decades later, another famous paleontologist, Othniel C. Hyracotherium is a good case study: this prehistoric horse was first described by the famous 19th-century paleontologist Richard Owen, who mistook it for an ancestor of the hyrax (hence the name he bestowed, Greek for "hyrax-like mammal"). In paleontology, naming new genera of extinct animals can often be a long, tortured affair. Tiny size four-toed front and three-toed back feet Woodlands of North America and Western EuropeĮarly-Middle Eocene (55-45 million years ago) Hyracotherium (Greek for "hyrax-like mammal") pronounced HIGH-rack-oh-THEE-ree-um also known as Eohippus (Greek for "dawn horse") I think it would be cool if this creature was implimented into the game don't you think? Here is some info I found on them: This small creature is the direct descendant of modern horses today. Hyracotherium is the early horse dated to have been alive after the extinction of the dinosaurs.
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