232 THE HORSE AND ITS RELATIVES 



Proceedings of the Zoological Society for 191 1 ^ Mr. 

 R. I. Pocock remarks on the similarity between 

 this or another hybrid of the same nature born at 

 Knowsley ^ and the undermentioned offspring of a 

 male Somali wild ass and a female zebra. 



In the summer of 191 1 hybrids between a male 

 Somali wild ass and a Matabili bontequagga {E. 

 burchelli chapmani) on the one hand and a zebra 

 {E. zebra) on the other were born in the London 

 Zoological Gardens, of which Mr. Pocock has 

 given the following description : — 



"In both hybrid foals the head, neck, and 

 body are practically self-coloured, with the exception 

 of the spinal, ventral, and shoulder stripes, a few 

 narrow brown stripes above the muzzle on the nose, 

 and a shading of ashy grey on the lower part of the 

 neck. The mane is unstriped, but the legs are well 

 banded up to the level of the belly or thereabouts. 

 The ears have a dark basal stripe and a terminal 

 black patch, but the white ear-tip seen in zebras and 

 quaggas is absent. On the other hand, the white 

 area present just above the muzzle in asses is 

 absent. In the absence of the shoulder and spinal 

 stripes and of the patch on the base of the ear, the 

 Somali donkey differs from the domesticated 

 animal, . . . Two features characteristic of the 



^ Page 991. 



2 In the specimen referred to by Mr. Pocock the onager is stated 

 to be the sire. 



