Hypohippus fossil map
Where fossils of Hypohippus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 15 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 23.04–3.6 million years ago (Aquitanian to Zanclean) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Equidae |
| Named by | (Leidy 1858) |
| Fossil records | 222 occurrences at 65 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States, Canada, China |
| Rock formations | txn:42984, Valentine, Ash Hollow, Olcott, Wood Mountain, Temblor |
About Hypohippus
Hypohippus is an extinct genus of three-toed horse, which lived 17–11 million years ago. It was the largest anchitherine equid about the size of a modern domestic horse, at 403–600 kg (888–1,323 lb) and 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long. It was a long-necked, high-shouldered browser with sub-hypsodont, lophodont (rhino-like) dentition, that fed on the tough vegetation of forest understory and shrubs. Its deep preorbital fossae and retraction of the nasal notch hint at the presence of a long, muscular and prehensile upper lip that would aid during selective browsing. Overall its ecology would have been more comparable to modern okapi than to grazing horses.
Fossils of it have been found in Nebraska, Colorado, and Montana.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Hypohippus (revision 1366532736), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q741886.
