Hyracotherium sp.  

Eohippus - the dawn horse life-size model

Habitat

The way of life of the small animal is different to that of present horses. The short crowned teeth show that Hyracotherium might have eaten more soft plant parts as for example leafs than grazing hard grass. Especially interesting are the feet. The forefoot has four digits and the hindfoot three digits. This feet were ideal for walking at soft grounds like those of rainforests. During the Eocene, large forests grew in the tropical climate. They offered enough food and cover to the small shy horse ancestor. There is no hint that Hyracotherium lived in herds.

Sources

Hyracotherium sp. (Eohippus - the dawn horse) was wide-spread over today's Asia, Europe and North America in the Late Eocene, 55 Million years ago.

Further information

It is the earliest known ancestor of the horse and was not larger than a domestic cat. While the main line of descent of early horses became extinct in Europe and Asia in the late Oligocene, about 35 million years ago, the evolution of the horse went on in North America. The proportions of the skull, the short neck and arched back and especially the legs of Hyracotherium do not remember much at modern horses, but fossil evidence makes it possible to retrace the way of evolution.

The model is based on the original skeleton Eohippus venticolus Cope 1885, which is housed in the American Museum New York (No. 4832).

Period

Description of the model:

Modelmaker: Susanne Henssen
The model was casted using high quality epoxy resin, reinforced with glassfibres. It was coloured using non-fade paint and varnish. We use glass-eyes.

Dimension:

bodylenth ca. 60 cm

Price:

on demand