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Plains Zebra

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                  iPlains Zebra

                             Conservation status

   Least Concern (LC)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom:  Animalia
   Phylum:   Chordata
   Class:    Mammalia
   Order:    Perissodactyla
   Family:   Equidae
   Genus:    Equus
   Subgenus: Hippotigris
   Species:  E. quagga

                                Binomial name

   Equus quagga
   Boddaert, 1785

                                 subspecies

   E. q. quagga
   E. q. burchellii
   E. q. boehmi
   E. q. borensis
   E. q. chapmani
   E. q. crawshayi

   The Plains Zebra, or Common Zebra, or Burchell's Zebra (Equus quagga,
   formerly Equus burchelli) is the most common and geographically
   widespread form of zebra, once being found on plains and grasslands
   from the south of Ethiopia right through east Africa as far south as
   Angola and eastern South Africa. Plains Zebras are much less numerous
   than they once were, because of human activities such as hunting them
   for their meat and hides, as well as encroachment on much of their
   former habitat, but they remain common in game reserves.
   Range map of Equus quagga. (Moelman, 2002) ██ historic range ██ present
   range Enlarge
   Range map of Equus quagga. (Moelman, 2002) ██ historic range ██ present
   range

   Plains Zebras are mid-sized and thick bodied with relatively short
   legs. Adults of both sexes stand about 1.4 metres high at the shoulder,
   are approximately 2.3 metres long, and weigh about 230 kg. Like all
   zebras, they are boldly striped in black and white and no two
   individuals look exactly alike. All have vertical stripes on the
   forepart of the body, which tend towards the horizontal on the
   hindquarters. The northern species have narrower and more defined
   striping; southern populations have varied but lesser amounts of
   striping on the underparts, the legs and the hindquarters. The first
   subspecies to be described, the Quagga which is now extinct, had plain
   brown hindquarters. (Technically, because the Quagga was described
   first as E. quagga, the proper zoological name for the most common form
   of the Plains Zebra is E. quagga burchelli.)

   Plains Zebras are highly social and usually form small family groups
   consisting of a single stallion, one, two, or several mares, and their
   recent offspring. Groups are permanent, and group size tends to vary
   with habitat: in poor country the groups are small. From time to time,
   Plains Zebra families group together into large herds, both with one
   another and with other grazing species, notably Blue Wildebeests.

   Unlike many of the large ungulates of Africa, Plains Zebras prefer but
   do not require short grass to graze on. In consequence, they range more
   widely than many other species, even into woodland, and they are often
   the first grazing species to appear in a well-vegetated area. Only
   after zebras have cropped and trampled the long grasses do wildebeests
   and gazelles move in. Nevertheless, for protection from predators,
   Plains Zebras retreat into open areas with good visibility at night
   time, and take it in turns standing watch. They eat a wide range of
   different grasses, preferring young, fresh growth where available, and
   also browse on leaves and shoots from time to time.

Subspecies

   Zebras drinking water in the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo
   Enlarge
   Zebras drinking water in the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo

   In 2004, C.P. Groves and C.H, Bell have done investigations on the
   taxonomy of the zebras genus Equus, subgenus Hippotigris. They
   published their research in Mammalian Biology. They revised the
   subspecies of the plain zebra Equus quagga. Six subspecies are
   recognizable. The completely maneless Somali population may represent a
   seventh subspecies: Equus quagga isabella (Ziccardi, 1958). This
   subspecies may be valid, but at present there is no evidence that it
   is.
     * Quagga, Equus quagga quagga Boddaert, 1785 †
     * Burchell's Zebra, Equus quagga burchellii Gray, 1824
     * Grant's Zebra, Equus quagga boehmi Matschie, 1892
     * Selous' zebra, Equus quagga borensis Lönnberg, 1921
     * Chapman's Zebra, Equus quagga chapmani Layard, 1865
     * Crawshay's Zebra, Equus quagga crawshayi De Winton, 1896

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