Nannippus

Nannippus
Temporal range: late Miocene- early Pleistocene
Jaw of Nannippus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Equidae
Subfamily: Equinae
Tribe: †Hipparionini
Genus: †Nannippus
Matthew, 1926

Nannippus is an extinct genus of three-toed horse endemic to North America during the Miocene through Pleistocene, about 13.3—1.8 million years ago (Mya), living around 11.5 million years. This ancient species of three-toed horse grew up to 3.5 feet (1.1 meters) and weighed between 165 pounds (75 kilograms) to 199 pounds (90 kilograms), which was around the same size as a domestic sheep.

Distribution

Nannippus lived as far south as central Mexico (N. peninsulatus) to as far north as Canada (N. lenticularis), to California in the west, and North Carolina (N. lenticularis) and Florida (N. peninsulatus) in the east.

Palaeoecology

Unlike its relatives, Nannippus, as well as all other three-toed horses endemic to North America, were browsers and mixed feeders that had diets consisting of C3 plants and possibly C4 plants. Dental microwear and mesowear of N. peninsulatus specimens from west-central Mexico suggests that it was a mixed feeder or a non-strict grazer, with a moderately abrasive diet over the course of its lifetime.

Species

References

  1. ↑ MacFadden, Bruce J (1984). "Systematics and phylogeny of Hipparion, Neohipparion, Nannippus, and Cormohipparion (Mammalia, Equidae) from the Miocene and Pliocene of the New World". Bulletin of the AMNH. 179. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
  2. ↑ Johnston, C. Stuart (1938). "The Skull of Nannippus gratus (Leidy) from the Lower Pliocene of Texas". The American Midland Naturalist. 19 (1): 245–248. doi:10.2307/2420435. ISSN 0003-0031. JSTOR 2420435.
  3. ↑ Hulbert, Richard C. (1993). "Late Miocene Nannippus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from Florida, with a Description of the Smallest Hipparionine Horse". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13 (3): 350–366. Bibcode:1993JVPal..13..350H. doi:10.1080/02724634.1993.10011515. ISSN 0272-4634. JSTOR 4523517.
  4. ↑ MacFadden, Bruce J. (1985). "Patterns of Phylogeny and Rates of Evolution in Fossil Horses: Hipparions from the Miocene and Pliocene of North America". Paleobiology. 11 (3): 245–257. ISSN 0094-8373.
  5. ↑ "Nannippus". prehistoric-fauna.com. Retrieved 2021-06-23.
  6. ↑ Tudge, Colin (April 3, 1994). "Science: Why the four-toed horse lost the race: If evolution is random, why has the family Equidae grown steadily larger and faster? The answer lies in the gut, says Colin Tudge". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  7. ↑ Hulbert, Richard C. (1993). "Late Miocene Nannippus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from Florida, with a Description of the Smallest Hipparionine Horse". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13 (3): 350–366. ISSN 0272-4634.
  8. ↑ MacFadden, Bruce J.; Solounias, Nikos; Cerling, Thure E. (1999-02-05). "Ancient Diets, Ecology, and Extinction of 5-Million-Year-Old Horses from Florida". Science. 283 (5403): 824–827. doi:10.1126/science.283.5403.824. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 9933161.
  9. ↑ Zazzo, Antoine; Bocherens, Hervé; Brunet, Michel; Beuvilain, Alain; Billiou, Daniel; Mackaye, Hassane Taisso; Vignaud, Patrick; Mariotti, André (2000). "Herbivore Paleodiet and Paleoenvironmental Changes in Chad during the Pliocene Using Stable Isotope Ratios of Tooth Enamel Carbonate". Paleobiology. 26 (2): 294–309. ISSN 0094-8373.
  10. ↑ Passey, Benjamin H.; Cerling, Thure E.; Perkins, Michael E.; Voorhies, Michael R.; Harris, John M.; Tucker, Shane T. (2002). "Environmental Change in the Great Plains: An Isotopic Record from Fossil Horses". The Journal of Geology. 110 (2): 123–140. doi:10.1086/338280. ISSN 0022-1376.
  11. ↑ Hernández-Serrano, Leonardo; Marín-Leyva, Alejandro Hiram; Plata-Ramírez, Ramón Adrián; Mora-Rosas, Juan Luis; García-Zepeda, María Luisa (1 October 2025). "Dietary and habitat adaptations of Blancan ungulates: Insights from West-Central Mexico and their paleoecological implications". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 675 113111. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113111. Retrieved 17 August 2025 – via Elsevier Science Direct.
  12. ↑ E. H. Sellards. 1916. Fossil vertebrates from Florida: A new Miocene fauna; new Pliocene species; the Pleistocene fauna. Florida State Geological Survey Annual Report 8:79-119
  13. ↑ Mooser, O. (1968). "Fossil Equidae from the Middle Pliocene of the Central Plateau of Mexico". The Southwestern Naturalist. 13 (1): 1–12. doi:10.2307/3668809. ISSN 0038-4909. JSTOR 3668809.
  14. ↑ W. W. Dalquest and T. J. Donovan (1973). "A new three-toed horse (Nannippus) from the late Pliocene of Scurry County, Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 47 (1): 34–45.
  15. ↑ Dalquest, Walter W.; Donovan, Terrence J. (1973). "A New Three-Toed Horse (Nannippus) from the Late Pliocene of Scurry County, Texas". Journal of Paleontology. 47 (1): 34–45. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 1302864.
  16. ↑ Voorhies, M. R. (1974). "The Pliocene Horse Nannippus Minor in Georgia: Geologic Implications". Tulane Studies in Geology and Paleontology. 11 (2).
  17. ↑ R. C. Hulbert. 1993. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology[full citation needed]
  18. ↑ Hulbert, Richard C. Jr. (1993-09-23). "Late Miocene Nannippus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla) from Florida, with a description of the smallest hipparionine horse". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 13 (3): 350–366. Bibcode:1993JVPal..13..350H. doi:10.1080/02724634.1993.10011515. ISSN 0272-4634.
  19. ↑ G. G. Simpson. 1930. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 59(3)