424 



ZOOLOGY 



The Arab 

 horse 



other way. It has been suggested that the chestnuts 

 represent glands which exist in deer, which function as 

 scent organs. The habits of the horse would make such 

 glands superfluous, but they were perhaps functional in 

 an ancestor. The Celtic pony has entirely lost the er- 

 gots and the hind chestnuts, and hence Professor Ewart 

 regards it as a specialized member of the genus. 



9. Another very distinct type is the Arab, which is 

 the most beautiful and interesting of all horses. It has 

 been named Equus asiaticus. Whether it originated in 

 Asia or northern Africa is much disputed, but the Lib- 

 yan tribes appear to have possessed such an animal at a 

 time when the Arabs were quite without horses. The 

 Arab is long-legged, with the head held high and the 

 tail raised when in motion, as may usually be seen in 



Photograph by Professor J. C. Ewart 



FIG. 198. " Sherkieh," an Arab of the 

 Hamdani Simri strain. 



Photograph hy Professor J. C. Ewart 

 FIG. igg. "Romano," a type of horse simi- 

 lar to that figured by prehistoric men in 

 the Combarelles cave, France. 



