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

Early horse — Protorohippus venticolum

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

Geologic period: Early Eocene — Wasatchian

Age: Early Eocene.

Taxonomic note: Modern systematic work recognizes Protorohippus venticolum as a distinct early equid lineage.

Feeding: Herbivorous browser.

Evidence: Skeleton, teeth and limbs directly document early equid anatomy.

Why it matters: Protorohippus records an early stage in horse evolution when equids were small, forest-associated and multi-toed.

Plain Language Identity: A small early Eocene horse from North America.

What You Are Looking At: A fossil skeleton of Protorohippus venticolum.

Ecosystem: Early Eocene terrestrial ecosystem.

Source Urls: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://naturalhistory.si.edu/visit/virtual-tour/current-exhibits/deep-time-virtual-tour-fossil-list; https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-paleontology/article/stratigraphy-mammalian-paleontology-paleoecology-and-age-correlation-of-the-wasatch-formation-fossil-butte-national-monument-wyoming/DA1D75C44C42F59CEFDD2BD54CFC6D29

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: Protorohippus venticolum

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: End Cretaceous Mass Extinction Event and View of Early Horse and Green River Fossils
Exhibition History
Included in the SAGE Museum Dinosaurs & Deep Time staging exhibit.
Subjects & Themes
Protorohippus venticolum Early Eocene — Wasatchian skeleton End Cretaceous Mass Extinction Event and View of Early Horse and Green River Fossils 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.