MOROPUS, from the recent video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFap...) I made for the Neogene period #moropus #neogene #paleoart #cenozoic
May 18, 2025 at 10:36 AM
MOROPUS, from the recent video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFap...) I made for the Neogene period #moropus #neogene #paleoart #cenozoic
a curious 8-9 year old came up to me and asked me about the moropus display, we talked like 10 mins bout evolution.
they seemed genuinely interested and engaged!
right after that, another kid in their class ran past us, scanned the name "moropus" on the placard and said:
OH GREAT, A MORON HORSE!
they seemed genuinely interested and engaged!
right after that, another kid in their class ran past us, scanned the name "moropus" on the placard and said:
OH GREAT, A MORON HORSE!
August 12, 2026 at 11:24 PM
a curious 8-9 year old came up to me and asked me about the moropus display, we talked like 10 mins bout evolution.
they seemed genuinely interested and engaged!
right after that, another kid in their class ran past us, scanned the name "moropus" on the placard and said:
OH GREAT, A MORON HORSE!
they seemed genuinely interested and engaged!
right after that, another kid in their class ran past us, scanned the name "moropus" on the placard and said:
OH GREAT, A MORON HORSE!
20 million years ago, Moropus inhabited the forests of North America
August 23, 2025 at 9:06 PM
20 million years ago, Moropus inhabited the forests of North America
MOROPOSTING ON MAIN 💖
September 5, 2026 at 9:04 PM
MOROPOSTING ON MAIN 💖
Thinking about Moropus, which we all should be doing more often. #FossilFriday
June 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Thinking about Moropus, which we all should be doing more often. #FossilFriday
"GREAT! A MORON HORSE!"
- 8 year old at museum
- 8 year old at museum
August 13, 2026 at 1:41 PM
"GREAT! A MORON HORSE!"
- 8 year old at museum
- 8 year old at museum
The world can be scary for a newborn Moropus, but not with her mother by her side!
February 3, 2026 at 4:45 AM
The world can be scary for a newborn Moropus, but not with her mother by her side!
You know who’s a charming beast? A chalicothere! The fossil mammals were sloth horses, related to equids, rhinos, and friends, but with claws at the end of their feet instead of hooves. This particular form is Moropus, a chalicothere that wandered North America between 20 and 13 million years ago. 🧪
July 7, 2025 at 5:14 PM
You know who’s a charming beast? A chalicothere! The fossil mammals were sloth horses, related to equids, rhinos, and friends, but with claws at the end of their feet instead of hooves. This particular form is Moropus, a chalicothere that wandered North America between 20 and 13 million years ago. 🧪
49/60
MOROPUS
Moropus was a Miocene (23 - 5 million years ago) mammal of North America, related to horses and rhinos but equipped with large curved claws instead of hooves.
Moropus stood about 8 feet at the shoulder and likely used its long forelimbs to pull branches within reach while browsing.
MOROPUS
Moropus was a Miocene (23 - 5 million years ago) mammal of North America, related to horses and rhinos but equipped with large curved claws instead of hooves.
Moropus stood about 8 feet at the shoulder and likely used its long forelimbs to pull branches within reach while browsing.
August 12, 2026 at 10:47 PM
49/60
MOROPUS
Moropus was a Miocene (23 - 5 million years ago) mammal of North America, related to horses and rhinos but equipped with large curved claws instead of hooves.
Moropus stood about 8 feet at the shoulder and likely used its long forelimbs to pull branches within reach while browsing.
MOROPUS
Moropus was a Miocene (23 - 5 million years ago) mammal of North America, related to horses and rhinos but equipped with large curved claws instead of hooves.
Moropus stood about 8 feet at the shoulder and likely used its long forelimbs to pull branches within reach while browsing.
It walked on four legs in a digitigrade stance, but could rear onto its hind limbs to reach higher branches.
Even within a stable lineage, the body diverges.
A hoofed ancestry without hooves. A grazing form that reaches upward.
A creature that contradicts its category.
jtierney.net#moropus
Even within a stable lineage, the body diverges.
A hoofed ancestry without hooves. A grazing form that reaches upward.
A creature that contradicts its category.
jtierney.net#moropus
August 12, 2026 at 10:50 PM
It walked on four legs in a digitigrade stance, but could rear onto its hind limbs to reach higher branches.
Even within a stable lineage, the body diverges.
A hoofed ancestry without hooves. A grazing form that reaches upward.
A creature that contradicts its category.
jtierney.net#moropus
Even within a stable lineage, the body diverges.
A hoofed ancestry without hooves. A grazing form that reaches upward.
A creature that contradicts its category.
jtierney.net#moropus
Majestic Moropus elatus, a chalicothere from the early Miocene of Nebraska, on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science #fossilfriday
February 8, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Majestic Moropus elatus, a chalicothere from the early Miocene of Nebraska, on display at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science #fossilfriday
January 10, 2024 at 8:24 PM
More Peabody upgrades for #FossilFriday. Titanotylopus, Stenomylus, Megacerops, and Moropus in their old, gravel-lined cases vs the slick new Cenozoic hall.
March 16, 2024 at 1:55 AM
More Peabody upgrades for #FossilFriday. Titanotylopus, Stenomylus, Megacerops, and Moropus in their old, gravel-lined cases vs the slick new Cenozoic hall.
#ForgottenBloodlines
Waiting for Agate.
Waiting for Agate.
January 28, 2025 at 5:05 PM
#ForgottenBloodlines
Waiting for Agate.
Waiting for Agate.
Just some amazing things created by federal civil servants 💚
January 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Just some amazing things created by federal civil servants 💚
More Moropus content, today at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology
June 9, 2026 at 6:22 PM
More Moropus content, today at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology
moropus. look at these beautiful lines.
October 22, 2025 at 7:23 PM
moropus. look at these beautiful lines.
#WWD2025 #MesozoicLifeProject #ForgottenBloodlines #DINOSAURIA
At present: 2025 IN (scientifically credible) PALEO MEDIA.
At present: 2025 IN (scientifically credible) PALEO MEDIA.
March 28, 2025 at 4:51 AM
#WWD2025 #MesozoicLifeProject #ForgottenBloodlines #DINOSAURIA
At present: 2025 IN (scientifically credible) PALEO MEDIA.
At present: 2025 IN (scientifically credible) PALEO MEDIA.
Mammals that inhabited the Great Plains in the Miocene (16-20 mya) include Dinohyus hollandi with its bone-crushing jaws, early horse ancestor Moropus elatus, and the bear-dog Daphoenodon superbus. All were found at an old water hole here. Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 29 Jul 2025.
February 4, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Mammals that inhabited the Great Plains in the Miocene (16-20 mya) include Dinohyus hollandi with its bone-crushing jaws, early horse ancestor Moropus elatus, and the bear-dog Daphoenodon superbus. All were found at an old water hole here. Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 29 Jul 2025.
[Repost]
Some paleoart of Cenozoic mammals! Epicyon, Arsinoitherium, Moropus, and Homotherium.
#art #paleoart #sciart #digitalart #creaturedesign
Some paleoart of Cenozoic mammals! Epicyon, Arsinoitherium, Moropus, and Homotherium.
#art #paleoart #sciart #digitalart #creaturedesign
April 25, 2025 at 3:53 PM
[Repost]
Some paleoart of Cenozoic mammals! Epicyon, Arsinoitherium, Moropus, and Homotherium.
#art #paleoart #sciart #digitalart #creaturedesign
Some paleoart of Cenozoic mammals! Epicyon, Arsinoitherium, Moropus, and Homotherium.
#art #paleoart #sciart #digitalart #creaturedesign
Chalicotheres like our friend Moropus here were perissodactyls, related to horses and rhinos, but they behaved more like ground sloths, using clawed hands to pull branches down to munch. 🧪
October 24, 2024 at 6:09 PM
Chalicotheres like our friend Moropus here were perissodactyls, related to horses and rhinos, but they behaved more like ground sloths, using clawed hands to pull branches down to munch. 🧪
I was so excited about moropus I almost missed my favorite little assholes in the foreground
January 13, 2026 at 4:02 AM
I was so excited about moropus I almost missed my favorite little assholes in the foreground
Mammals that inhabited the Great Plains in the Miocene (16-20 mya) include Dinohyus hollandi with its bone-crushing jaws, early horse ancestor Moropus elatus, and the bear-dog Daphoenodon superbus. All were found at a dried up water hole. Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 29 Jul 2025.
August 13, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Mammals that inhabited the Great Plains in the Miocene (16-20 mya) include Dinohyus hollandi with its bone-crushing jaws, early horse ancestor Moropus elatus, and the bear-dog Daphoenodon superbus. All were found at a dried up water hole. Agate Fossil Beds National Monument, Nebraska, 29 Jul 2025.
T. Potter et al. (2025)
Allometric trends in growth of the chalicothere Moropus elatus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Chalicotheriidae)
in Lucas et al., 2025, Fossil Record 10. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin: 171--174
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Allometric trends in growth of the chalicothere Moropus elatus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Chalicotheriidae)
in Lucas et al., 2025, Fossil Record 10. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin: 171--174
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
(PDF) ALLOMETRIC TRENDS IN GROWTH OF THE CHALICOTHERE MOROPUS ELATUS (MAMMALIA: PERISSODACTYLA; CHALICOTHERIIDAE)
PDF | The large clawed chalicothere Moropus elatus is known from dozens of skeletons from early Miocene quarries in western Nebraska, such as Agate... | Find, read and cite all the research you need o...
www.researchgate.net
July 20, 2025 at 12:44 PM
T. Potter et al. (2025)
Allometric trends in growth of the chalicothere Moropus elatus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Chalicotheriidae)
in Lucas et al., 2025, Fossil Record 10. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin: 171--174
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Allometric trends in growth of the chalicothere Moropus elatus (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Chalicotheriidae)
in Lucas et al., 2025, Fossil Record 10. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin: 171--174
www.researchgate.net/publication/...