Plains Zebra
The plains zebra (Equus quagga) is the most common and widespread zebra, found in grasslands and savannas of eastern and southern Africa, and listed as Near Threatened. The extinct quagga was a subspecies.
The plains zebra (Equus quagga) is the most common and widespread zebra, found in grasslands and savannas of eastern and southern Africa, and listed as Near Threatened. The extinct quagga was a subspecies.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Plains Zebra in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Mammals lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
Why Stripes? A Fly Defense
Field experiments on horses wearing zebra-striped coats found that biting flies landed on them less often than on plain coats. The stripes seem to confuse the flies as they approach, and evidence suggests that this, rather than camouflage or heat control, is the main benefit.
Migration
Plains zebras form part of the Serengeti-Mara migration along with wildebeest. Their grazing opens the grass for other species.
The Quagga
The quagga, which had stripes only on the front half of the body, was hunted to extinction in 1883. DNA analysis revealed it was a subspecies of the plains zebra, and selective breeding projects now try to recreate its appearance.
Plains Zebra at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Equus quagga |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Perissodactyla |
| Family | Equidae |
| Field Guide group | Mammals: Eutheria (Placentals) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Used to study the evolutionary mechanics of disruptive coloration against biting flies. |
| IUCN Red List status | Near Threatened (NT), assessed 2016 |
| Extinct subspecies | Quagga |
See Also
- Horse — a close domestic relative
- Natural selection — adaptive coloration