Horse Fossils

Prehistoric Horses

Horse fossils, in Florida, extend from the early Oligocene Period to the Pleistocene Period and are very complete from the middle Miocene to early Pliocene.

The early fossil record, in Florida, for these prehistoric animals includes Miohippus and Mesohippus. The evolution of the horse during this time starts to make a transition between “browsing horses” to “grazing horses”. The “grazing horses” started to appear in the late Miocene to early Pliocene.

Some of these ancient animals are very abundant in Florida fossil sediments and others are quite rare, but the horse has a long history and is well represented in Florida’s fossil record.

There are many other ancient horses, from Florida, and they include, but are not limited to: Merychippus, Neohipparion, Pseudhipparion, Hipparion, Nannippus, Cormohipparion, Pliohippus, Astrohippus, Dinohippus, Parahippus, Archaeohippus and Equus.