The oldest known fossils assigned to Equidae date from the early Eocene, 54 million years ago. They formerly were assigned to the genus Hyracotherium (sometimes known as Eohippus), but the type species of that genus now is regarded to be not a member of this family (see Hyracotherium).
These early Equidae were fox-sized animals with three toes on the hind
feet, and four on the front feet. They were herbivorous browsers on
relatively soft plants, and already adapted for running.
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