Category E: History and Evolution DONE Flashcards
What does the Anglo-Saxon word,
hors, mean?
Swiftness
What is the oldest purebred existing today?
Arabian
What does the Greek word, eos, mean?
Dawn
What was the first ancestor if the modern horse called?
Eohippus
What is the original meaning for the word, eohippus?
Dawn horse
What is the final stage of evolution of the horse?
Equus
Why did plantation owners in the south develop the saddlebred?
They wanted an easy gaited horse to ride in the fields all day but would look fancy for Sunday visiting.
How did the horse get brought back to North America after disappearing in the Ice Age?
By Spaniards in the sixteenth century
The first horse originated about how long ago?
58 million years ago
Where did the first horse live?
The Great Plains of North America
How tall was the first ancestor of the horse?
12 inches tall
How many toes did eohippus have on each foot?
Four toes on the front and three toes on the back
What was the second stage of evolution of the horse?
Mesohippus
How tall was mesohippus?
24 inches tall
How tall was eohippus?
12 inches tall
How many toes did mesohippus have on each foot?
Three toes on each foot
Which toe was largest on mesohippus?
The middle toe
What stage of evolution of the horse developed teeth suitable for grazing?
Mesohippus
How did horses get to Asia before dying out in North America about one million years after Eohippus roamed the Great Plains?
They crossed the Bering Strait, which was a land bridge at the time between Alaska and Siberia
Which Spanish explorer was credited with bringing the first spotted horses to the North American continent?
Cortez
BONUS Q: Name 3 ways the horse has served man.
Beast of burden, war machine, recreation, source of food.
BONUS Q: Name 3 characteristics of eohippus.
Short neck, 12 inches tall, four toes on front feet, three toes on back feet, lived in swamps and forests, had even teeth
