There is a word hippophobia which means “fear of horses ” as you mentioned. It is because the word hippo comes from Greek which means “horse” and hippopotamus literally means “river horse”. Equinophobia is used for fear of horses also.
Why does hippo mean horse?
Etymology. The Latin word hippopotamus is derived from the ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος, hippopótamos, from ἵππος, híppos, “horse”, and ποταμός, potamós, “river”, meaning “horse of the river” . In English, the plural is “hippopotamuses”, but “hippopotami” is also used.
The name “hippopotamus” comes from a Greek word meaning “water horse” or “river horse.” But hippos are not related to horses at all —in fact, their closest living relatives may be pigs or whales and dolphins! There are two species of hippopotamus: the river, or common, hippo and the much smaller pygmy hippo.
What are horses closest relatives?
They include rhinoceroses and tapirs , the horse’s closest living relatives.
In fact, hippopotamus are actually whales’ closest “cousins” , and they’re much more closely related than you might guess. Based on their fossil record, scientists have determined that whales are related to land dwelling mammals that lived on Earth between 52 – 47 million years ago.
Does hippo mean horse in Greek?
It is a combination of the Greek words hippos, meaning “horse” and potamos, meaning “river .” In fact, the hippopotamus is more closely related to the hog than to the horse. However, the “river” in the name is certainly right for an animal that always lives near water and spends most of its time in it.
What animal’s name means river horse in Greek?
Which animal is called the river horse? The hippopotamus is sometimes called the river horse. In fact its name is made up of Greek words meaning ‘river’ and ‘horse’. Hippos live in Africa and spend much of the day partly under the water in rivers and lakes.
Can zebras and horses mate?
A zorse is the offspring of a zebra stallion and a horse mare. It is a zebroid: this term refers to any hybrid equine with zebra ancestry. The zorse is shaped more like a horse than a zebra, but has boldly striped legs and, often, stripes on the body or neck. Like most other interspecies hybrids, it is infertile.
Are camels faster than horses?
Are camels faster than horses? Camels are slower than horses because their maximum speed is only around 20 mph compared to 25 mph for horses. Meanwhile, horses have an average galloping speed of 25 MPH to 30 MPH or even faster if they are really trained for racing.
What are a group of horses called?
Question: What is a group of horses called? Answer: It is alternately called a team , a harras, a rag (for colts), a stud (a group kept primarily for breeding), or a string (a group belonging to or used by one individual).
What is the biggest animal that ever lived?
Far bigger than any dinosaur, the blue whale is the largest known animal to have ever lived. An adult blue whale can grow to a massive 30m long and weigh more than 180,000kg – that’s about the same as 40 elephants, 30 Tyrannosaurus Rex or 2,670 average-sized men.
Did hippos evolve from dolphins?
Despite their contrasting appearances, fully aquatic cetaceans — the group that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises — and semi-aquatic hippopotamuses are each other’s closest living relatives and share a common ancestor that lived about 55 million years ago.
Which land animal is the closest cousin to dolphins?
The closest living relatives of dolphins today are the even toed ungulates such as camels and cows with the humble hippopotamus being the closest living relative.
What does the Greek word hippos mean?
Etymology. The Latin word hippopotamus is derived from the ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος, hippopótamos, from ἵππος, híppos, “horse “, and ποταμός, potamós, “river”, meaning “horse of the river”. In English, the plural is “hippopotamuses”, but “hippopotami” is also used.
Do hippos look like horses?
The animal is huge and barrel shaped nearly 12 feet long and five feet at its shoulder, with a short thick neck and small ears. Hippos, or to use their biological name, hippopotamus amphibious literally means ‘river horse’.
What is the Greek name for horse?
Male Horse Names Inspired By Greek Mythology. Greek mythology features many strong horse names. For instance, Alastor, which is Hades’ horse or Apollo’s many horses: Aethon, Eous, Pyrois and Phlegon . See a selection of our favorite male horse names inspired by mythology below.
