COMMON ZEBRA OR BONTE-QUAGGA 691 



zebra over crazvshayi of South Africa is the lesser number 

 and broader character of the transverse stripes on the 

 middle of the body between the shoulder stripe and the first 

 oblique stripe. They number five in all the specimens, 

 except two in which they are reduced to four. In crazvshayi 

 they number six or more and are correspondingly narrower. 

 The color of the dark stripes is black in all the adult speci- 

 mens, but in the immature ones the stripes are usually less 

 blackish, being seal-brown or, in very young animals, russet- 

 brown. The light stripes or the ground-color are usually 

 quite whitish or cream color. In some individuals there is 

 occasionally a buff intermixture, but the immature animals 

 and the very young are usually quite as whitish as the 

 adults. The ears lose their dark markings to some extent 

 in age. The dark tip is, however, never absent, but it is 

 greatly reduced in old age when the ear becomes almost 

 completely white in appearance. The hair coat is shortest 

 in adults and longest in the young. In the nursing young 

 it is usually quite woolly. In very old adults the mane, 

 which in adults is usually some 5 or 6 inches long, becomes 

 worn down to a thin fringe only i or 2 inches long, and so 

 thin that the white stripes which are present in the perfect 

 condition have been eliminated by wear, leaving only black. 

 Specimens of this sort from the Uasin Gishu Plateau have 

 been mentioned by Lydekker as perhaps representing a 

 distinct race owing to their maneless condition. They are, 

 however, only aged males in which the mane is normally 

 greatly reduced. Female zebras do not, however, share 

 in this mane reduction but retain well-developed manes 

 throughout their lives. The tail tuft seems to be a more 

 constant affair and has usually a length of 17 inches beyond 

 the end of the tail vertebrae. It varies, however, from 15 

 to 19 inches in length but appears not to show any decrease 

 in age like the mane. 



The size variation in this race is really considerable if 

 we take as a basis the dimensions of skulls which offer in 

 this respect the most reliable data. The length of the skull 

 in males varies from 19X inches to 2i>^ inches, which gives 

 an actual variation of zyi inches. In the females the skull 

 length varies from i8>^ inches to 20^ inches and shows an 

 actual variation of 2 inches, which is practically the same 



