| Quagga | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| General information | |||
| Universe | Real Life | ||
| Classification | Equus quagga quagga | ||
| Species type | Zebra | ||
| Homeworld | Earth | ||
| Environment | Shrublands | ||
| Intelligence | Non-sapient | ||
| Biochemistry | Carbon-based | ||
| Biological information | |||
| Lifespan | Wild: 20 years Captivity: 40 years | ||
| Reproduction | Sexual, viviparous | ||
| Average height | 125–135 cm (4'1"–4'5" in) at shoulder | ||
| Average length | 257 cm (8'5") | ||
| Locomotion | Quadrupedal | ||
| Feeding behavior | Herbivorous | ||
| Prey | Grass | ||
| Lineage information | |||
| Subspecies | E. q. quagga | ||
| Related species | Burchell's zebra Grant's zebra Maneless zebra Chapman's zebra Crayshaw's zebra Selous' zebra | ||
| Cultural information | |||
| Sociocultral characteristics | |||
| Scientific taxonomy | |||
| Planet | Earth | ||
| Domain | Eukaryota | ||
| Kingdom | Animalia | ||
| Subkingdom | Eumetazoa | ||
| Infrakingdom | Bilateria | ||
| Superphylum | Deuterostomia | ||
| Phylum | Chordata | ||
| Subphylum | Vertebrata | ||
| Infraphylum | Gnathostomata | ||
| Superclass | Tetrapoda | ||
| Class | Mammalia | ||
| Subclass | Theria | ||
| Infraclass | Placentalia | ||
| Superorder | Laurasiatheria | ||
| Order | Perissodactyla | ||
| Suborder | Hippomorpha | ||
| Family | Equidae | ||
| Subfamily | Equinae | ||
| Tribe | Equini | ||
| Genus | Equus | ||
| Subgenus | Hippotigris (Zebras) | ||
| Species | E. quagga | ||
| Subspecies | E. q. quagga | ||
| Other information | |||
| Status | Extinct | ||
| Creator | God (debated) | ||
| Possible population | 0 | ||
The quagga (Equus quagga quagga) is an extinct subspecies of plains zebra that was native to South Africa.
Description[]
The quagga is believed to have been 257 cm (8 ft 5 in) long and 125–135 cm (4 ft 1 in–4 ft 5 in) tall at the shoulder. Based on measurements of skins, mares were significantly longer and slightly taller than stallions, whereas the stallions of extant zebras are the largest. Its coat pattern was unique among equids: zebra-like in the front but more like a horse in the rear. It had brown and white stripes on the head and neck, brown upper parts and a white belly, tail and legs. The stripes were boldest on the head and neck and became gradually fainter further down the body, blending with the reddish brown of the back and flanks, until disappearing along the back. It appears to have had a high degree of polymorphism, with some having almost no stripes and others having patterns similar to the extinct southern population of Burchell's zebra, where the stripes covered most of the body except for the hind parts, legs and belly. It also had a broad dark dorsal stripe on its back. It had a standing mane with brown and white stripes.
The only quagga to have been photographed alive was a mare at the Zoological Society of London's Zoo. Five photographs of this specimen are known, taken between 1863 and 1870. On the basis of photographs and written descriptions, many observers suggest that the stripes on the quagga were light on a dark background, unlike other zebras. The German naturalist Reinhold Rau, pioneer of the Quagga Project, claimed that this is an optical illusion: that the base color is a creamy white and that the stripes are thick and dark.
Living in the very southern end of the plains zebra's range, the quagga had a thick winter coat that molted each year. Its skull was described as having a straight profile and a concave diastema, and as being relatively broad with a narrow occiput. Like other plains zebras, the quagga did not have a dewlap on its neck as the mountain zebra does. The 2004 morphological study found that the skeletal features of the southern Burchell's zebra population and the quagga overlapped, and that they were impossible to distinguish. Some specimens also appeared to be intermediate between the two in striping, and the extant Burchell's zebra population still exhibits limited striping. It can therefore be concluded that the two subspecies graded morphologically into each other. Today, some stuffed specimens of quaggas and southern Burchell's zebra are so similar that they are impossible to definitely identify as either, since no location data was recorded.
Behavior and ecology[]
The quagga was the southernmost distributed plains zebra, mainly living south of the Orange River. It was a grazer, and its habitat range was restricted to the grasslands and arid interior scrubland of the Karoo region of South Africa, today forming parts of the provinces of Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Western Cape and the Free State. These areas were known for distinctive flora and fauna and high amounts of endemism. Quaggas have been reported gathering into herds of 30–50, and sometimes travelled in a linear fashion. They may have been sympatric with Burchell's zebra between the Vaal and Orange rivers. This is disputed, and there is no evidence that they interbred. It could also have shared a small portion of its range with Hartmann's mountain zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae).
Little is known about the behavior of quaggas in the wild, and it is sometimes unclear what exact species of zebra is referred to in old reports. The only source that unequivocally describes the quagga in the Free State is that of the British military engineer and hunter William Cornwallis Harris. His 1840 account reads as follows:
The geographical range of the quagga does not appear to extend to the northward of the river Vaal. The animal was formerly extremely common within the colony; but, vanishing before the strides of civilization, is now to be found in very limited numbers and on the borders only. Beyond, on those sultry plains which are completely taken possession of by wild beasts and may with strict propriety be termed the domains of savage nature, it occurs in interminable herds; and, although never intermixing with its more elegant congeners, it is almost invariably to be found ranging with the white-tailed gnu and with the ostrich, for the society of which bird especially it evinces the most singular predilection. Moving slowly across the profile of the ocean-like horizon, uttering a shrill, barking neigh, of which its name forms a correct imitation, long files of quaggas continually remind the early traveler of a rival caravan on its march. Bands of many hundreds are thus frequently seen doing their migration from the dreary and desolate plains of some portion of the interior, which has formed their secluded abode, seeking for those more luxuriant pastures where, during the summer months, various herbs thrust forth their leaves and flowers to form a green carpet, spangled with hues the most brilliant and diversified.
The practical function of striping in zebras has been debated and it is unclear why the quagga lacked stripes on its hind parts. A cryptic function for protection from predators (stripes obscure the individual zebra in a herd) and biting flies (which are less attracted to striped objects), as well as various social functions, have been proposed for zebras in general. Differences in hind quarter stripes may have aided species recognition during stampedes of mixed herds, so that members of one subspecies or species would follow its own kind. It has also been evidence that the zebras developed striping patterns as thermoregulation to cool themselves down, and that the quagga lost them due to living in a cooler climate, although one problem with this is that the mountain zebra lives in similar environments and has a bold striping pattern. A 2014 study strongly supported the biting-fly hypothesis, and the quagga appears to have lived in areas with lesser amounts of fly activity than other zebras.
A 2020 study suggested that the sexual dimorphism in size, with quagga mares being larger than stallions, could be due to the cold and droughts that affects the Karoo plateau, conditions that were even more severe in prehistoric times, such as during ice ages (other plains zebras live in warmer areas). Isolation, cold, and aridity could thereby have affected quagga evolution, including coat color and size dimorphism. Since plains zebra mares are pregnant or lactate for much of their lives, larger size could have been a selective advantage for quagga mares, as they would therefore have more food reserves when food was scarce. Dimorphism and coat color could also have evolved through genetic drift due to isolation, but these influences are not mutually exclusive, and could have worked together.