The Propalaeotherium is one of the earlier horse family ancestors. They were very small and they evolved from the eohippus and lived from 49-43 million years ago.
A Distant Relative
The Propalaeotherium was a forest dwelling creature that resembled a tapir (a distant horse relative) more than modern horse. They were about the size of a cat and instead of one central hoof, they had tiny hooflets on the tips of their toes (4 on the front and 3 on the hind).
These small animals are not the descendants of modern horse, their lineage died out completely around 35 million years ago.
Well Preserved For Science
A relatively large collection of amazingly well-preserved Propalaeotherium fossils have been found allowing scientists a glimpse into their life so long ago. In fact, they were found with full bellies and a great deal was learned about their eating habits. It turns out they were scavengers, eating berries and leaf matter they rooted out from the forest floor.
Not An Exact Science
Sadly we didn’t have scientists millions of years ago, so trying to piece together the history of horses is tricky business. There is a considerable amount of controversy when it comes to the taxonomy & lineage of extinct equidae. Be sure to meet some of the others like Mesohippus, Orohippus, Eohippus and Hipparion.