An extinct three-toed horse from the Oligocene and Miocene epochs that was smaller than modern horses and lived in North America and Europe.
From Greek 'anchis' (near) and 'therion' (beast/animal), named by paleontologists to indicate it was close to or ancestral to true horses. The name reflects the animal's intermediate position in horse evolution.
Anchitheres are key to understanding horse evolution because they show the intermediate stages—fossil sites reveal their three-toed feet gradually evolving into the single-hoof design of modern horses over millions of years!
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