What is the correct sequence of horse evolution?
1 Answer
There is some debate about the sequence of horse evolution and it is now considered to be a branching sequence not a single line.
Explanation:
The older version of the horse evolution was a single line
The Hyracotherium with four toes in the front and three toes in the back found in the Wasatch strata of the Eocene followed by and
The Protorohippus a little larger with four toes in the front three in back found in the earlier Wind River strata of the Eocene. next
The Mesohippus with three toes in front and there toes in the back
found in the White River Strata of the Oligocene Then
The Protohippus with three toes in front and three toes in back
found in the Four Fork Strata of the Miocene Finally resulting in
The Equus the modern horse with 1 toe in front ran and 1 toe in back
This is found in Sheridan strata of the Recent Pleistocene
The new icon is a branching chain.
it starts with the Hyracotherium with branches to the Gobihippus the Orohippus and the Xenicohippus.
Next the Haplohippus and the Epihinppus branch off from the Orothippus. followed by the Mesohippus and Miohippus with no branches. Then the Ancitherium and Parahippus branch off.
The Protohippus is a dead end branch from the Parahippus while the Merychippus goes forward branching off into the Pliohippus (dead end) the Hipparion ( dead end) anmd the Dinohippus leading finally to the Equus.
The correct sequence is hotly debated. Interesting these sequences are better phrased as horse devolution as there is a obvious loss of complexity and information going from the earliest horse fossils to the larger but simpler present modern horse. Either sequence of horse evolution is actually evidence against Darwinian evolution which postulates a gradual increase in complexity and information.
While the horse fossil sequence shows a decrease in complexity.
