Equine Science - Griffiths Ch. 1

Question 1

Fossil evidence of the earliest horses in North America were found in what region of the United States?

Answer 1

Great Plains

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 5

Question 2

The modern-day horse is a member of the larger horse family known as what?

Answer 2

Equidae

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 3

Fossil evidence shows that the earliest members of the Equidae family had how many toes on each foot?

Answer 3

4

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 4

True or False: The horse is an herbivore.

Answer 4

True

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 5

What is an herbivore?

Answer 5

A grass-eater

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 6

True or False: The horse is a simple-stomached, non-ruminant animal.

Answer 6

True

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 7

What is a ruminant animal?

Answer 7

Cud-chewing animal

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 8

What is a non-ruminant animal?

Answer 8

Non-cud-chewing animal

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 9

What is considered the first “true” horse?

Answer 9

Equus

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 10

This is a two-part question:
Equus had 1 toe and 2 side bones on each foot. What are those side bones known as today and where are they located?

Answer 10

They are known as splint bones and they are positioned to either side of the cannon bone of the horse.

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 11

True or False: The horse and its close relatives are the only single-toed animals in the world today.

Answer 11

True

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 6

Question 12

Where did the modern-day Equus originate?

Answer 12

North America

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 7

Question 13

When did Equus disappear from North America?

Answer 13

During the era of the Ice Age.

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 7

Question 14

How do scientists hypothesize that the horse got from North America to Asia?

Answer 14

Across a land bridge between Alaska and Siberia that is now under water that is known today as the Bering Strait.

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 7

Question 15

Approximately how tall was Eohippus?

Answer 15

About 1 foot tall; the size of a beagle or large house cat.

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 9

Question 16

To what zoological kingdom does the horse belong?

Answer 16

Animalia

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 15

Question 17

What is the species name of the modern-day horse and its close wild relatives?

Answer 17

Equus Caballus

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 15

Question 18

How many chromosome pairs do horses and ponies have?

Answer 18

32 pairs (64 “diploid” chromosomes)

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 16

Question 19

Name two ways in which donkeys are different than horses.

Answer 19

They have one fewer chromosome pair, and they have chestnuts on the insides of only the front legs, not on the hind legs.

Equine Science - Griffiths pg. 16