BONTE-QUAGGA. 35 



on the forehead, the whole animal is barred transversely with 

 reference to the lines of its spine and limbs. 



It is also stated that the Asses of the deserts of North-East 

 Africa are perfectly adapted to their surroundings in colour, and 

 no one can doubt that the assimilation is equally perfect in the 

 case of the Kiang and the Wild Horse of Central Asia. In the 

 matter of colouring the Kiang recalls the Quagga, despite a 

 difference in the deepness of the brown pervading the upper-parts 

 in the two species. Notwithstanding this difference, there seems 

 no question that the explanation of the significance of the colouring 

 of the Kiang appUes with equal truth to the Quagga. This 

 explanation is the action of light and shade. 



In the Kiang it will be noticed that the upper-parts, on which 

 the light falls, are of a rich ruddy hue, darker than ordinary sand, 

 while the muzzle, the lower side of the head, the throat and 

 uuder-parts are creamy white ; an arrangement which must render 

 it practically invisible when standing in the desert at a distance. 

 The white limbs and backs of the thighs may be explained as 

 follows : — When a Kiang lies down, with the hind-quarters 

 depressed, the fore-legs folded and the hind-legs tucked in close to 

 the body, the white on the back of the thighs is brought into line 

 with that of the belly, and a continuous expanse of white, obliter- 

 ating the shadow, extends all along the underside from the knee 

 to the root of the tail. The same is the case with the Quagga and 

 the under-mentioned Bonte-Quagga ; and it indicates, in the case 

 of the latter, the meaning of the change in pattern presented 

 by the different local races as we pass from Somaliland southwards 

 into Cape Colony. In correlation with the adoption of a life in 

 the open, a new method of concealment by means of shadow 

 counteraction was required, and was perfected by the toning down 

 of the stripes on the upper side and the suppression of those on 

 the hind-quarters, legs, and under-parts. 



U . ||, y , Although the typical southern race of the 



exceedingly variable species known as Equus 



^ ^^ ■ burchelli is commonly called Burehell's Zebra, 



it is much better designated by its Boer title of Bonte-Quagga 



(i. e. Painted Quagga), since this obviates the use of such incon- 



