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Merychippus stevensi

Mammalia - Perissodactyla - Equidae

Taxonomy
Merychippus stevensi was named by Dougherty (1940). Its type specimen is CIT 2582, a tooth (M1 or M2), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is CIT 322, which is in a Miocene terrestrial horizon in California.

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1940Merychippus stevensi Dougherty p. 133 figs. Plate 4, figure 9; plate 5, figures 2-6a

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
RankNameAuthor
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Euungulata
Panperissodactyla
superorderPerissodactylamorpha
orderPerissodactyla()
superfamilyEquoidea
familyEquidae
subfamilyEquinae
genusMerychippus
speciesstevensi

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.

Merychippus stevensi Dougherty 1940
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
J. F. Dougherty 1940One-third larger, with cheek teeth higher-crowned than in M. carrizoensis. (Compare plate 4, figs. 1 and 9.) Height and size of crown comparable to that in M. isonesus. Fossette borders of upper cheek teeth less complicated than in M. californicus. Protocone attached firmly to p;rotoconule, this union occurring immediately after wear begins. The writer takes pleasure in naming this species for John B. Stevens, geologist of the Associated Oil Company of California.
Merychippus stevensi is represented by eight upper teeth, two fragmentary lowers, and an ungual phalanx of the median digit. Some variation in characters is exhibited by the teeth, but all specimens are distinct from those referred to. M. carrizoensis.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingsubf
Diet: grazersubf
Diet 2: browsersubf
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2005-08-31 14:56:53
Modified: 2005-08-31 16:56:53
Source: subf = subfamily, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: MacFadden 1998, Hendy et al. 2009, Nowak 1991, Carroll 1988, Ji et al. 2002, Lillegraven 1979

Age range: Miocene or 23.03000 to 5.33300 Ma

Collections: one only


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Miocene23.03 - 5.333USA (California) Merychippus stevensi (type locality: 19295)