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Early horse. Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.
OBJECT DOSSIER · SMITHSONIAN OPEN ACCESS

Early horse — Eohippus vasacciense

SAGE Museum Deep Time scientific dossier
Date / Period
Early Eocene — Wasatchian · Eocene, Wasatchian.
Object Type
composite
Medium
representative_scientific_visual
About This Object

Geologic period: Early Eocene — Wasatchian

Age: Eocene, Wasatchian.

Taxonomic note: Smithsonian retains both Eohippus vasacciense and the historical combination Hyracotherium vasacciense in its record.

Feeding: Herbivorous browser.

Evidence: Complete skeletons preserve body proportions and limb anatomy. Evolutionary relationships come from comparative anatomy and phylogenetic analysis.

Why it matters: Eohippus helps show that horse evolution began with small, multi-toed forest animals rather than with modern grassland horses.

Plain Language Identity: A small early equid from the Eocene.

What You Are Looking At: A composite reconstruction of a small early horse relative.

Ecosystem: Eocene terrestrial ecosystem of North America.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.si.edu/object/eohippus-vasacciense:nmnhpaleobiology_3455666

Formation: Huerfano Formation for documented Smithsonian material.

Find Location: Colorado, United States.

Enrichment Method: SAGE curated research pass; title + scientific name + source scene matched; chronology and taxonomy conflicts retained rather than silently corrected; evidence separated from inference

Scientific name: Eohippus vasacciense

Evidence / representation: Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

Why It Is In This SAGE Exhibit

Representative evidence-type visual; not the exact specimen.

After the Dinosaurs: Mammals, Ice Ages and the World We Inherited.

Provenance
Smithsonian Deep Time source scene: Life in the Neogene Ocean
Exhibition History
Included in the SAGE Museum Dinosaurs & Deep Time staging exhibit.
Subjects & Themes
Eohippus vasacciense Early Eocene — Wasatchian composite Life in the Neogene Ocean After the Dinosaurs
ORIGINAL COLLECTION SOURCE

This object page stays inside SAGE Museum. The Smithsonian link below is provided only as the original scholarly collection record. It opens separately.