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Merychippus (Protohippus)
Taxonomy
Equus (Protohippus) was named by Leidy (1858) [named as subgenus of Equus by Leidy 1858; raised to genus level; also recognized by Osborn 1918]. Its type is Equus (Protohippus) perditus.
It was synonymized subjectively with Merychippus by Hay (1902), McGrew and Meade (1938), Olson and McGrew (1941), Dorr (1956) and Shotwell (1961); it was Merychippus (Protohippus) by Stirton (1940); it was reranked as Protohippus by Leidy (1869), Leidy (1873), Cope (1881), Gidley (1907), Scott (1913), Quinn (1955), Hulbert (1988), Carroll (1988), Prothero and Schoch (1989), Kelly (1995), Prado and Alberdi (1996), MacFadden (1998), MacFadden and Dobie (1998), Hulbert and Whitmore (2006) and May (2019).
It was assigned to Equus by Leidy (1858); to Palaeotheriinae by Cope (1881); to Protohippinae by Gidley (1907); to Merychippus by Stirton (1940); to Protohippina by Hulbert (1988) and Prado and Alberdi (1996); to Equidae by Leidy (1869), Leidy (1873), Scott (1913), Carroll (1988) and MacFadden and Dobie (1998); to Protohippini by Quinn (1955), Kelly (1995) and Hulbert and Whitmore (2006); and to Equini by Prothero and Schoch (1989), MacFadden (1998) and May (2019).
It was synonymized subjectively with Merychippus by Hay (1902), McGrew and Meade (1938), Olson and McGrew (1941), Dorr (1956) and Shotwell (1961); it was Merychippus (Protohippus) by Stirton (1940); it was reranked as Protohippus by Leidy (1869), Leidy (1873), Cope (1881), Gidley (1907), Scott (1913), Quinn (1955), Hulbert (1988), Carroll (1988), Prothero and Schoch (1989), Kelly (1995), Prado and Alberdi (1996), MacFadden (1998), MacFadden and Dobie (1998), Hulbert and Whitmore (2006) and May (2019).
It was assigned to Equus by Leidy (1858); to Palaeotheriinae by Cope (1881); to Protohippinae by Gidley (1907); to Merychippus by Stirton (1940); to Protohippina by Hulbert (1988) and Prado and Alberdi (1996); to Equidae by Leidy (1869), Leidy (1873), Scott (1913), Carroll (1988) and MacFadden and Dobie (1998); to Protohippini by Quinn (1955), Kelly (1995) and Hulbert and Whitmore (2006); and to Equini by Prothero and Schoch (1989), MacFadden (1998) and May (2019).
Synonyms
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Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1858 | Equus (Protohippus) Leidy p. 26 |
| 1869 | Protohippus Leidy p. 275 |
| 1873 | Protohippus Leidy p. 322 |
| 1881 | Protohippus Cope p. 399 |
| 1892 | Protohippus medius Cope p. 944 fig. 5 |
| 1893 | Protohippus medius Cope p. 25 |
| 1907 | Protohippus Gidley p. 867 |
| 1907 | Protohippus medius Merriam and Sinclair |
| 1913 | Protohippus Scott p. 290 |
| 1920 | Protohippus medius Matthew |
| 1940 | Merychippus (Protohippus) Stirton p. 181 |
| 1955 | Protohippus Quinn p. 13 |
| 1955 | Eoequus Quinn p. 54 |
| 1988 | Protohippus Carroll |
| 1988 | Protohippus Hulbert, Jr. p. 281 |
| 1989 | Protohippus Prothero and Schoch p. 532 |
| 1995 | Protohippus Kelly p. 25 |
| 1996 | Protohippus Prado and Alberdi p. 676 |
| 1998 | Protohippus MacFadden p. 549 |
| 1998 | Protohippus MacFadden and Dobie |
| 2006 | Protohippus Hulbert and Whitmore p. 17 |
| 2019 | Protohippus May p. 101 fig. 106 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
Subg. †Merychippus (Protohippus) Leidy 1858
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†Merychippus (Protohippus) secundus Osborn 1918
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| R. C. Hulbert 1988 | Medium- to large-sized, hypsodont, tridactyl equids with toothrow lengths generally between 125 and 145 mm in mature individuals. Malar fossa absent. DPOF large, teardrop-shaped, relatively shallow; distinctly rimmed dorsally and posteriorly in earlier populations, often with a small posterior pocket; less distinct in later populations, without a pocket. Lacrimal bone large, included in posterior region of DPOF. Diastema short; rostrum broad, but not to the degree of advanced species of Calippus; incisors form typical equine rounded arcade. Upper cheekteeth with large, elongate-oval protocones that are isolated from the protoselene to varying degrees during early wear-stages (most prevalent on P34 and M3); moderately large, single pli caballins on P34 (smaller and less persistent with wear on molars); simple but relatively persistent fossette plications; hypoconal groove generally remains open until at least middle wear; prominent parastyles on P34. Large protostylids on permanent and deciduous lower cheekteeth. Variably developed ectostylids on dp2-dp4. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: subf = subfamily, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum | |||||
| References: Lillegraven 1979, Hendy et al. 2009, Nowak 1991, Ji et al. 2002, MacFadden 1998, Carroll 1988 | |||||
Collections
No collection or age range data are available