34 Mr. E. I. Pocock on the 



necessarily sketcliy and far from exliausting even the syste- 

 matic aspect of the question, may prove of some use to those 

 who are interested in becoming acquainted with the different 

 species and subspecies that have been established. 



It must be understood, however, that the statements that 

 have been made have been derived, owing to the scarcity of 

 material, from the examination of a relatively small number 

 of skins, and that extended observations may prove hereafter 

 that some of the conclusions are unjustifiable. For example, 

 in the appended synopsis of species it is asserted that the 

 presence of a longitudinal ventral stripe is distinctive of the 

 zebras as compared with the asses, the assertion resting on 

 its presence in all the zebi*as and its absence in the asses of 

 the species Aermonus, iceniopus, and somaliensis* that I have 

 been able to see. Personally 1 venture to doubt whether it is 

 ever absent in the zebras, though it must not be forgotten 

 that Grav described the bellv of Burchell's zebra as beino: 

 without stripes, that Sir William Flower states that in the 

 common zebra the belly often has a longitudinal stripe ('The 

 Horse,' p. 86), and that, according to Noack (Zool. Garten, 

 xxxiv. p. 293), the belly of the quagga frequently has a 

 middle band, the qualifying adverb of time in each sentence 

 clearly suggesting the occasional absence of the stripe in the 

 species mentioned. 



Concerning the specific characters of the mountain zebra 

 and Grevy's zebra nothing by way of introduction need here 

 be said ; but touching Burchell's zebra and its subdivisions a 

 few words of explanation may not be out of place. 



There seems to be a widespread misconception on the part 

 of sportsmen in South Africa as to the identity of the genuine 

 Burchell's zebra, for, with the exception of the two well- 

 marked species mentioned above, the name " Burchell's " is 

 applied indiscriminately to all the zebras that range over East 

 and South Africa from Masailand to the Orange and Vaal 

 Rivers. For example, Dr. Donaldson Smith (* Through 

 Unknown African Countries,' p. 255, 1897) speaks of the 

 occurrence of Burchell's zebra near Lake Stephanie ; yet it is 

 tolerably certain that no zebra resembling the typical 

 Burchell's occurs to the north of the Zambesi, and even to the 

 south of this river the name is loosely assigned to animals 

 distinguishable at a glance from the principal form. Why 

 the characters of the principal form should have been so 

 completely forgotten is hard to understand, unless, indeed, it 

 be partly due to the circumstance that for many years past a 



* Noack, Zool. Garten, April 1884, p. 101 { = so7nalicus, Sclater, P. Z. S. 

 Nov. 1884, p. 540). 



