Protorohippus
{{Short description|Extinct genus of mammals}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = Eocene (Wasatchian)
| image = Protorohippus Green River Formation.jpg
| image_caption = Fossil from the Green River Formation
| taxon = Protorohippus
| authority = Wortman, 1896
| type_species = Protorohippus venticolum
| type_species_authority = (Cope, 1881)
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
- †P. venticolum (Cope, 1881)
- †P. montanum Wortman, 18961
| synonyms =
- Hyracotherium venticolum Cope, 1881
- Hyracotherium vasacciense venticolum Kitts, 1956
- Eohippus venticolum Granger, 1908
}}
Protorohippus (Latin: "before" (pro), + Greek: "mountain" (oros), "horse" (hippos){{cite web|url=https://research.amnh.org/paleontology/perissodactyl/concepts/glossary|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120123130/https://research.amnh.org/paleontology/perissodactyl/concepts/glossary|archive-date=20 November 2021|title=Glossary. American Museum of Natural History}}) is an extinct genus of equid that lived in the Eocene of North America.{{Cite journal | last1 = Froehlich | first1 = D. J. | title = Quo vadis eohippus? The systematics and taxonomy of the early Eocene equids (Perissodactyla) | doi = 10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00005.x | journal = Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume = 134 | issue = 2 | pages = 141–256 | year = 2002 | doi-access = free }}
Palaeobiology
Based on oxygen and carbon isotope analysis of the teeth of P. montanum, the species is believed to have had two distinct birth seasons per year, a result of the diminished seasonality during the Early Eocene. It is possible that this phenomenon held for other early equids as well.{{Cite journal |last=D’Ambrosia |first=Abigail R. |last2=Clyde |first2=William C. |last3=Fricke |first3=Henry C. |last4=Chew |first4=Amy E. |date=15 November 2014 |title=Stable isotope patterns found in early Eocene equid tooth rows of North America: Implications for reproductive behavior and paleoclimate |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018214004684 |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |language=en |volume=414 |pages=310–319 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.09.014 |access-date=21 February 2025 |via=Elsevier Science Direct|url-access=subscription }}image:The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17536793244).jpg]]
See also
{{Portal|Paleontology}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Perissodactyla Genera|P.}}
{{Equidae extinct nav}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7252110}}
Category:Eocene Perissodactyla
Category:Prehistoric placental genera
Category:Eocene mammals of North America
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