Equidae
Sign in to saveEquidae (commonly known as the horse family) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including asses, zebras, and many extinct species known only from fossils. The family evolved more than 50 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch, from a small, multi-toed ungulate into larger, single-toed animals. All extant species are in the genus Equus, which originated in North America. Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and several extinct families. It is more specifically grouped within the superfamily Equoidea, the only other fam
AI overview
Equidae is the taxonomic family that includes horses, zebras, asses, and their extinct relatives, all of which evolved from a small, multi-toed ancestor over 50 million years ago into the single-toed animals we know today. This family matters because it demonstrates a well-documented example of how animal evolution occurred over millions of years, and its members have been significant to human societies as working animals and subjects of scientific study.
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Taxonomy · GBIF
FAMILY
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- ClassMammalia
- OrderPerissodactyla
- FamilyEquidae
via GBIF · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Subclass of
- odd-toed ungulate
- Parent taxon
- Equoidea
- Image
- Equus species.jpg
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Article
3 sectionsContents
- Evolution
- Classification
- References
Equidae (commonly known as the horse family) is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including asses, zebras, and many extinct species known only from fossils. The family evolved more than 50 million years ago, in the Eocene epoch, from a small, multi-toed ungulate into larger, single-toed animals. All extant species are in the genus Equus, which originated in North America. Equidae belongs to the order Perissodactyla, which includes the extant tapirs and rhinoceros, and several extinct families. It is more specifically grouped within the superfamily Equoidea, the only other family being the extinct Palaeotheriidae.
The term equid refers to any member of this family, including any equine.