Hipparion primigenium. Illustration and photo-reconstruction of the ancient three-toed horse Hipparion. Like other advanced horses of the Miocene Hipp

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Hipparion primigenium. Illustration and photo-reconstruction of the ancient three-toed horse Hipparion. Like other advanced horses of the Miocene Hipparion supported its body weight upon a single toe that ended with a hoof. Other toes were also still present upon either side of this toe but they had become so reduced in size that they did not touch the ground. Hipparion was about metres tall at the shoulder. Although perhaps nothing special in terms of appearance Hipparion appeared at the start of the Miocene period and continued to thrive until well into the mid Pleistocene, surviving for some twenty-two million years.

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Size: 6496px × 4328px
Photo credit: © ROMAN UCHYTEL/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ancient, animal, artwork, composite, early, equidae, extinct, fauna, hipparion, horses, illustration, mammal, miocene, palaeontological, palaeontology, palaeozoological, palaeozoology, paleontological, paleontology, paleozoological, paleozoology, prehistoric, prehistory, toes, wildlife