ODD-TOED UNGULATES (pERISSODACTYLA) 273 



feral — that is, descended from animals which have 

 escaped from captivity, like the horses that roam over 

 the plains of America and Australia, and the wild 

 boars that now inhabit the forests of New Zealand/^ 



In 1881 the Russian explorer Prejevalsky dis- 

 covered in the Gobi desert of Central Asia a distinct 

 species of wild horse since named Equiis caha litis 

 'przewalshii. The Tarpans had become extinct, 

 and the natives said the pure breed was only to 

 be found further east where Prejevalsky found 

 them. 



At first Prejevalsky^s horse was regarded as in- 

 termediate between the horse and the ass, or as a 

 hybrid between the kiang and the horse, because 

 although it possesses the four ^* chestnuts ^' of the 

 horse, only the lower half of the tail is covered with 

 long hairs, as in the ass. The general colour is dun, 

 with a yellowish tinge on the back and almost white 

 underneath. There is a narrow dorsal stripe. The 

 mane is dark brown, short and erect, and there is no 

 forelock. The hoofs are narrow. The head is 

 relatively very large and so are the cheek teeth. 

 Nor is there any indication of a depression in the 

 skull in front of the eye-socket, a feature to be men- 

 tioned later on in connection with the skulls of Arab 

 horses. This Mongolian horse is now generally 

 accepted as a truly wild horse, whence the domes- 

 ticated horses of Europe and those taken by 

 Europeans to America have arisen. 



Mr. Lydekker considers that the wild Mongolian 

 horses are the same as the Tarpans, which had 

 crossed to a greater or less degree with escaped 



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