Until recently, " Pliohippus " was believed to be the ancestor of present-day horses because of its many anatomical similarities.
2.
Also like the modern horse, " Pliohippus " was a grazer that fed of steppe grasses of the North American plains it inhabited.
3.
The horse preserved here was later found to be a transitional form between the primitive " Pliohippus " and the modern horse genus " Equus ".
4.
Until recently, because of its many anatomical similarities, " Pliohippus " was believed to be the ancestor of the present-day horse and its relatives in " Equus ".
5.
However, though " Pliohippus " was clearly a close relative of " Equus ", its skull had deep facial fossae, whereas " Equus " had no fossae at all.
6.
Based on study of the tooth morphology it is considered unlikely that " Astrohippus " could be an ancestor of modern horses, with the most likely ancestor of " Astrohippus " being " Pliohippus ".
7.
Fossils of " Pliohippus " have been found at many late Miocene localities in Colorado, the Great Plains ( Nebraska and the Dakotas ) and also Canada . " Pliohippus " has been found beside " Neohipparion ".
8.
Fossils of " Pliohippus " have been found at many late Miocene localities in Colorado, the Great Plains ( Nebraska and the Dakotas ) and also Canada . " Pliohippus " has been found beside " Neohipparion ".
9.
Consequently, it is unlikely to be the ancestor of the modern horse; instead, it is likely to be the ancestor of " Astrohippus " . " Pliohippus " stood approximately 1.25 metres, similar to the modern horse.
10.
This quarry has produced the remains of six other equid genera including " Dinohippus " and " Nannippus " . " A . stockii " was described from the Yepomera locality in Chihuahua, Mexico, by J . F . Lance in 1950 as " Pliohippus stockii ".
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