Q 01/05

What is the scientific name of the domestic pig?

A) Sus domesticus

B) Sus barbatus

C) Bos taurus

D) Ovis aries

Answer · why

A) Sus domesticus

Some authorities treat it instead as a subspecies of the Eurasian wild boar, which is where every domestic breed began.

Q 02/05

Domestication happened independently twice in the Neolithic: in China and where else?

A) The Nile Delta

B) The Near East

C) The Indus Valley

D) Anatolia's Black Sea coast

Answer · why

B) The Near East

When those herds later reached Europe they interbred heavily with local wild boar but kept their domesticated traits.

Q 03/05

How many teeth does an adult pig have?

A) 44

B) 32

C) 38

D) 26

Answer · why

A) 44

The rear ones are built for crushing, and in males the canines keep growing into tusks that sharpen against each other.

Q 04/05

What strengthens a pig's snout, letting it dig through hard soil?

A) A cartilage ring alone

B) A special prenasal bone

C) Fused nasal muscles

D) A keratin plate

Answer · why

B) A special prenasal bone

The snout is also an acute sense organ, which is why the animal can locate food buried well out of sight.

Q 05/05

Why do pigs wallow in mud on hot days?

A) To cool down by evaporation

B) To soften their bristles

C) To attract mates

D) To dislodge loose hooves

Answer · why

A) To cool down by evaporation

Their eccrine sweat glands are limited to the snout, and they are poor panters, so mud does the work skin cannot.

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