THE ASS 219 



black through grey to white ; but in all cases the 

 belly, like the muzzle, remains white, showing how 

 deeply-rooted a feature is this element in the desert 

 type of colouring. 



Such European domesticated asses as retain 

 some approximation to the colouring of their wild 

 relatives have the legs, which are often barred with 

 black, in most cases scarcely, if at all, lighter than 

 the body. They are also characterised by the 

 presence in nearly every case of a large brown or 

 blackish patch at the base of the outer surface of 

 the ear ; these patches being also present in the 

 domesticated asses of Socotra, which have reverted 

 to a wild state, and otherwise closely resemble their 

 truly wild relatives. 



In the ordinary wild asses of Africa this basal 

 dark patch is represented merely by a faint shading, 

 the outer surface of the ear being distinctly brown 

 or black only at the tip ; moreover, the legs are 

 white, with or without dark bars. This leads Mr. 

 R. I. Pocock ^ to conclude that domesticated asses 

 are descended from another race of the species in 

 which the aforesaid features were developed. 

 Whether such an animal survives at the present 

 day is doubtful ; but it is suggested that in former 

 days, at any rate, it may have inhabited parts of 

 Nubia, extending considerably to the northward of 



^ Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 8, vol. iv. p. 523, 1909. 



