KUNGL. SV. VET. AKADEMIENS HANDLINQAB. BAND 48, N:0 5. 127 



sumably Shoa, and this makes the question about the two supposed races rather 

 doubtful. 



If there were two races of E. grevyi they must, of course, have a different 

 geographical distribution and »E. g. faurei^ should inhabit Southern Abessinia, Shoa 

 and the region about Lake Rudolph southwards to Guaso Nyiri according to Mat- 

 sohie's opinion, while the typical E. grevyi should belong to Somaliland. Against 

 this speak the facts already recorded that the late King Menelik has sent as well 

 specimens with broad black stripes on the neck (presumably E. g. faurei) as such 

 with narrow stripes (the type of E. grevyi and another similar specimen) to Europe. 

 Likewise speaks against the same supposition the fact that a skin sent by Menges 

 to Hagenbeck from Berbera, thus from Somaliland, has broad black stripes on the 

 neck (as »E. g. faurei^). This can be stated on the figure published by Sclater in 

 Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1890 p. 413. 



The confusion is still more increased when one reads in Drake Brockman's 

 book »The Mammals of Somaliland** about Grevy's Zebra. ^^This is a small and 

 dark Zebra. The black stripes being broad and very close together give it the 

 appearance in the distance of a black pony. » 



The Grevy's Zebras are, of course, the largest in the group. And those which 

 I have *had the opportunity of seeing, — and they can be counted in many hundreds, 

 — never gave the impression of being black. On the contrary when the distance 

 was so great that the stripes could not be discerned, the black and white blended 

 together into a soft, pale, almost silvery grey. — On the other hand the common East- 

 African Zebra {E. granti») sometimes and in certain shades of light looked quite 

 black in a distance, but in other shades of light almost pure white. This was espe- 

 cially striking when a little flock was seen together, and some were standing so that 

 they looked black and others white, but after a while they changed position and 

 then also at the same time colour. The effect of the stripes of these two animals 

 is thus considerably different when they are seen at some distance. They were always 

 easily seen. In his above quoted book »The Game Animals of Africa* Lydekker 

 speaks about »two races or subspecies of Grevy's Zebra ». The Somali race is men- 

 tioned under the name ot »£/. grevyi berberensis^ which has been given by Pocock^ 

 1902, but has been omitted in Trouess art's »Catalogus Mammalium, Quinquennale 

 Supplementum* 1899—1904. The type is said to be from Duhri, Ogardain and shot 

 by Capt. SwAYNB. In this race the stripes are said to be dark brown and the inter- 

 spaces washed with ochre-brown and very noticeably darker than the white of the 

 belly (PococK 1. c. p. 308). Such a description appears to suit a young specimen, 

 but an animal coloured like that would probably look, darker than a normally colour- 

 ed Grevy's Zebra. 



In a description of Equus grevyi Pocock writes^ *this species is quite 



peculiar for the minute size of those bare patches of skin above the knee on 



1 London 1910. 



2 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1902 Ser. 7, Vol. X, p. 308. 



3 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1897 Ser. 6^ Vol. XX, p. 48. 



