 |
          
Members
Login
| Steve's Flag Expedition will revisit the actual site of the American Museum of Natural History's Mountain Gorilla diorama in the Virunga volcanoes in Africa with the intent of documenting the changes that have occurred in the diorama and its painted background scene.
Find out more... |
|
 Stephen C. Quinn
SAA, AFC
Wildlife Art, Natural History Dioramas |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
Prehistoric Diorama - Miocene Horses, AMNH
(2008)
Subject: Nebraska, Miocene Period, 12 million years ago.
Dimensions (feet): 12 x 67
Medium: acrylic
Description: Nebraska, 12 million years ago. Dinohippus, Nannippus, and Hypohippus.
This diorama depicts a location in what is today known as Nebraska as it appeared approximately 12 million years ago. At this point in time this region was changing from a largely forested region to a more open grassland ecosystem. Horses, a very diverse group of mammals at this time, evolved to occupy the varies habitats available.
On the far right is Hypohippus, a three toed browsing horse with low-crowned teeth for chewing tender shoots and branches that it nipped from low-hanging branches in the forest, much like an Okapi does today. Its three toes and shorter legs were thought to provide it with sure footedness in negotiating heavily forested habitats.
On the far left is Dinohippus, a more advanced single toed horse with high-crowned grinding teeth for chewing the course grasses that would eventually dominate on the Great Plains of North America. Its long legs and single toe are specializations for running at high speed over open grassland to escape predators.
Finally, in the center is the smaller Nannippus, which from the structure of its teeth and the presence of three toes is a generalist that was thought to have lived at the forest edge.
Thought horses first evolved and appear in the New World, today they are only found in the wild in Africa, Asia, and Europe as zebra, wild asses, and Przewalski's Horse, respectively. Horses, during past ice age periods, crossed over the Siberian land bridge to colonize the Old World, while humans crossed in the other direction and, it is speculated, may have hunted native North and South American horses into extinction.
Original Available For Sale:
No
Limited Edition Available:
No
|
| |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
