‘The evolution of the horse provides one of the keystones in the teaching of evolutionary doctrine, though the actual story depends to a large extent upon who is telling it and when the story is being told. In fact one could easily discuss the evolution of the story of the evolution of the horse.’
Prof. G.A. Kerkut (Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Southampton) in ‘Implications of Evolution’, Pergamon Press, London, 1960, p.144.
Editorial Comment: You may also be interested to know …
Eohippus had 18 rib pairs; Orohippus only 15, Pliohippus has 19, but Equus scotti jumps back to 18. Also, the fossils themselves are not all found in the postulated time sequence.
Hyracotherium (or Eohippus) is arbitrarily put on the bottom of the ladder but has turned out to be a rock badger (hyrax).