TKLEQONY AND EEVEESION. 97 



birth, while on the right side a number of spots have 

 recently blended to form a continuation of the upper flank 

 stripe. It thus appears that longitudinal as well as trans- 

 verse stripes may originate from the blending of spots. 

 The stifle stripe appears to begin at the bottom of the 

 flank feather. It then runs for some distance parallel to 

 the middle flank stripe, and after a short interruption 

 crosses the hind quarters as a well-marked band, to end 

 some distance below the root of the tail. The three flank 

 stripes, while difl^ering in their position from the flank 

 stripes in Matopo, agree fairly closely with stripes in the 

 Somali zebra. 



In front of the flank stripes are three oblique stripes 

 which, beginning on a level with the stifle, run upwards 

 parallel with the flank stripes to lose themselves amongst 

 the spots and indistinct narrow bands over the loins and 

 croup. Similar oblique stripes occur in some of the craiv- 

 shayi type of zebras. In the space bounded in front by 

 the last vertical stripe, above by the dorsal band and below 

 by portions of the oblique and flank stripes, are numerous 

 nearly transverse stripes and rows of spots. The part of 

 this space in front of the croup is mainly occupied by in- 

 distinct narrow stripes, over the croup proper there are 

 interrupted more or less zigzag stripes, behind these nu- 

 merous spots. Round the root of the tail an attempt has 

 been made to form a series of semicircular lines (Fig. 11) 

 such as occur in the Somali zebra (Fig. 24). The " grid- 

 iron " of Romulus thus agrees more closely with the 

 markings over the loins, croup, and hind quarters of the 

 Somali {E. grevyi) than with those over the corresponding- 

 parts of the mountain zebra {E. zebra). 



In describing the flank stripes in the hybrid I mentioned 

 they crossed the flank feather. In horses this swirl or 

 feather usually extends from near the level of the stifle to 

 near the point of the ilium or haunch-bone, while in asses 

 it is short, and usually nearly circular in form. In Matopo 

 there is no swirl formed by the hair in the region of the 

 flank, nevertheless there is a fairly long feather in my 



7 



