Hipparion
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9.9
An extinct horse with three toes that lived millions of years ago
- proper noun
- Specialized
:
Hipparion
- The fossilized remains of Hipparion were discovered in a site that dates back to the Miocene epoch.
Examples
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The presence of Hipparion a million years ago represents a late survival of a form that had already disappeared from Europe and most of Asia.
Academic text (1994) -
Paleontologists study the skeletal structures of Hipparion to understand the evolution of horses.
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The horses include both Equus, the modern one-toed genus, and the primitive three-toed Hipparion.
Academic text (1994) -
Many exhibits feature the extinct Hipparion in museums dedicated to prehistoric life.
Surface Forms
Hipparion main
Etymology
Hipparion comes from Greek hippos 'horse' and a diminutive ending that means 'little', so the name literally says 'little horse', the same root you see in hippopotamus. This explains why scientists used it for an extinct, three-toed horse.