Scientific Name of Horses: Classification & Habitat

Key Terms: Horse, Taxonomy, Kingdom, Phylum, Equus Ferus, Loxodonta Africana, Herbivores, Chordata

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Scientific Name of Horse

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The domestic horse, whose scientific name is Equus ferus caballus, is a subspecies of the Equus ferus (often called Wild horse). Equus Ferus is an official name allotted for the purpose of identification of an animal through the means of Binomial Nomenclature.

Horse

• Typically, the earliest known predecessor of horses is the Eohippus, belonging to the Early Eocene era. It was a multi-toed animal as enormous as the Fox Terrier. 
• This is the domesticated subspecies of the species Equus Ferus.
• The name is given officially for the purpose of identification of an animal via Binomial Nomenclature.
• The name Equus is the first name that helps represent the family of the animal and the second name usually shows the specific family, alongside the domestic names which are also given after as the subspecies (as in here, it is caballus).
• Equus is usually identified as the genus, which can earliest variants in Latin that had Equus, meaning Horse.
• The trinomial name which helps specify the three types of an animal that can be identified is Equus ferus caballus.

Facts about Horses

There are several facts about horses:

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Classification of Horses

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Horses can be classified as:

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Habitat of Horses

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Domesticated Horses can exist in many climatic conditions and are often found in more than one continent when shelter and food are given, excluding Antarctica. What this typically means is that Horses, especially domesticated or tamed, can live in almost all kinds of habitats. However, wild horses only prefer the plains, steppes, and prairies for many reasons.

• Usually, horses require wide and open spaces for defense purposes.
• They also need shelters, such as cliffs, in order to protect themselves from potential predators.
• There are herds of feral horses which are mainly densely populated in grasslands, meadows, mountains, cliffs, foothills, and others. 
• Horses can typically live up to 25 to 30 years, but there are numerous instances where horses have lived till later years and roughly about 40s and 50s.

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Previous Year Questions

1. Which of the following taxonomic categories of housefly is… (KEAM)
2. Small mammals and birds are rarely found in polar regions … (KCET 2021)
3. Which of the following is not an attribute of a population … (NEET 2020)
4. The process of growth is maximum during … (NEET 2020)
5. Bladderworm/cysticercus is the larval stage of… (NEET 1991)
6. Edaphology is… (KCET 2007)
7. Read the statements given below and identify the incorrect statement… (KCET 2012)
8. Which one of the following statements about certain given animals is correct?... (NEET 2010)
9. Which of the following organisms possesses characteristics of a plant and an animal? (NEET 1995)
10. Which one of the following is oviparous?... (NEET 2015)

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Things to Remember

• The scientific name of the Horse is Equus caballus.
• Horses are from the phylum of Chordata.
• The earliest predecessor of horses is the Eohippus, belonging to the Early Eocene era.
• Horses can usually live up to 25 to 30 years, but in many cases, they have lived till later years and roughly about 40s and 50s.

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