Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-09-17
HORSE HAS RECORD
PEDIGREE OF WORLD
Genealogical Tree of Equine is
Shown in National Museum
at Washington.
DATES TO EocENE AGE

tGSlES dS lar DdCk d. tlidl VI 'hS
horse. This animal, so well known
the world over, has the longest pedi-
rec on record; one probably over
100000 years old, dating back to
what is known as the Eocene age,
thousands of years before the coming
Of man. His genealogical tree is
shown in the National museum at
Washington, where series of feet
and skulls depict some OF his more
important ancestors.
The horse of the Ecoene, or his
iorebear, rather. was known as eohip-
pus, or dawn horse. He was about
the size of a fox, standing little
more than one foot high. Eohippus
lived in North America, where he
ran light, -footedly over the tertiary
~-~ocks on his we'll developed four-tocd
front feet, and three-toed hind feet.
His teeth were not like those of a
modern horse, either, but were short
crowned. While scientists are unable
? to tell us lust how long his name
vas, # he had any, or the color of his
hide, they do know the facts men
toned above, for his fossil remains
have been found in the rock strata
known as the Lower Eocene, which
is supposed to date back about 3,000,-
100 years. -...
Development of Animal.
1t is fortunate thing that little
eohippus experienced The development
that he did, or became specialized, as
the scientists say, for in his early form
such an animal would have been OF
but little service to us domestically
But such was the case, he de-
veloped remarkably and it is claimed
that, while he is not on the same
plane with man mentally, of course,
he is more highly specialized anat.
omically. His physique developed as
his needs required. He could not fight
much, so had to run away; his speed
developed, until today he is seen to
be fleet-footed, strong besh for bear
ing packs and pulling loads, and to
this end his size, feet, teeth and other
parts developed with his advance
down the ages. At his early age, when
be was called eohippus, the horse
WAS a most insignificant creature, as
compared to his contemporaries, the
great hulking brutes called the
uintatheres and coryphodonts. But,
strange as it may seem, his posterity
has outlived them ala fine example
of the survival of the fittest. The
horse is one of the best examples OF
the survival OF prehistoric animals.
An exhibit illustrating the develop
ment Of the horse is shown in the
United States National Museum, at
WASHINGTON, D. c., in the halls of
the division of vertebrate paeon-
tology, which includes all the fossil
animals, having backbones. Most OF
the specimens are complete bones,
partly turned to stone and found i'm
bedded in rock in several localities
in this country. The earliest known
form, the eohippus, comes. first, show
ing HIS four toed front feet and his
three-toed hind feet, as we'll as. his
teeth and skull of that time. As the
next advanced stage, we find bones
OF a somewhat larger animal OF the
Oligocene period, known as meso-
hippus. comparatively about the, size
Of sheep with three toes on all its
ieet, the one on the front feet having
proved superfiuous, nature saw to it
that it disappeared; its teeth have
also advanced bit, to assist it in
teeding,. as may be seen in the exhi-
btion case. Next, in the Miocene,
little later period, there lived numer-
Gus large horses called merychippus,
neohipparion,- protohippus, etc. The
Moot bones OF these animals show
three toes on each foot, but with
the middle toe much larger that its
companions, while the teeth are seen
to be longer and deeper crowned.
In fact, this type begins to look more
like a regular horse. In the next
step, the Pliocene, are seen still more
specialized forms, protohippus. and
pliohippus, the latter, and some other
species, having but a single toe on
each loot, which soon developed a
single hoof, their adjacentor auxiliary
toes having disappeared and only the
spllnts or stumps remain to be seen
on the fossil bones. vestiges of which
may also be seen in modern horses.
HE seems to have grown a little
larger also and more to the shape
OF the horse we know. He was still
able to feed, in spite of his longer
legs, as his neck and jaws had grown
IN proportion, and he could travel at
high rate of sneed on hard ground.
Date OF True Horse.
True Horses occurred in the Pleisto-
Gene period, some forms very closely
resembling the horse of TODAY, the
average OF them a little smaller in
stature. Modern horses average ID
hands high, or about 4 feet 8 inches,
showing a wonderful growth or de-
reloDment in height alone.
Here we have in the National
Museum series, followed the pedigree
OF the horse, or at least the general
"5teps thereof; in general way it is
seen that this progress consisted of
increase IN size, gradual enlargement
of the central toe. accompanied BY the
gradual widening or shrinking, and
Iinal loss of the side toes; the de-
yelopment of the single hoof on each
loot, and the increase in length and
compleXity of the teeth, particularly
the cheek teeth.
Sufficient finds of petrified skele-
tons or fossils have been made in
this country and Alaska to prove
that the early horse was here in great
numbers in the Pleistocene time, lust
as he was in Europe, but soon there
after he became extinct, or nearly so,
due to the great ice sheet of the
glacial age which swept the northern
part Of the new world clean of nearly
all animal life. Some scientists ad-
NIT that the Pleistocene horse might
have fingered in Texas or some south
ern part of North America until the
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