Orohippus

Orohippus (from the Greek , 'mountain' and , 'horse') is an extinct equid that lived in the Eocene (about 50 million years ago). Its fossils have been unearthed in Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.

== Description == thumb|left|Life restoration by [[Charles R. Knight]] It is believed to have evolved from equids such as Eohippus, as the earliest evidence for Orohippus appears about 2 million years after the first appearance of Eohippus. The anatomical differences between the two are slight: they were the same size, but Orohippus had a slimmer body, a more elongated head, slimmer forelimbs and longer hind legs, all of which are characteristics of a good jumper. Its teeth were brachydont in height, but the development of flattened surfaces and shearing lophs on their molars suggests they were more a browser than a frugivore. The outer toes of Eohippus are no longer present in Orohippus, hence on each forelimb there were four fingers (toes) and on each hind leg three toes.