Z E B 
YSARD. A term frequently ufed to denomi- 
nate that animal which is more generally known 
by the name of the chamois. 
YZQUAUHTLI. An Indian name for a 
bird defcribed by Nieremberg, called alfo the 
crefted eagle. 
YZQUIEPATL. An American anim.al of 
the muftela kind, with a Ihort flender nofe, ihort 
ears and legs, a black body full of hair, and a long 
tail. The entire length is about eighteen inches. 
It inhabits Mexico, and probably other parts 
of America; living in caves, and the hollows of 
rocks, where it breeds and rears it's offspring. It 
feeds on worms, beetles, and other infefts ; and, 
when purfued, emits fuch a horrid ftink, as is 
fcarcely fupportiblc by any other living creature. 
Profeffor Kalm relates, that he was one night 
Z E B 
in the moft extreme danger of being fuffbcated by 
one of thefe animals, that was purfued into the 
houfe v/here he flept; and that it affefted the cattle 
fo fenfibly, as to occafion their bellowing through 
excefs of pain. 
The ftench of another of thefe animals, which 
was killed by a niaid-fervant in a cellar, fo af- 
fe£ted her, that fhe lay ferioufly ill for feveral 
days ; and all the provifions in the place were 
tainted to fuch an extraordinary degree, that the 
owner was obliged to throw them away. Never- 
thelefs, the flefh of this creature is reckoned fit for 
food, and not very diffimilar to that of a pig; 
but, if intended for ufe, it muft be {kinned as foon 
as poffible, and the bladder carefully extraded. 
See CONEPATL, 
Z 
ZAUROS. An appellation by which feveral 
of the ancient Greek ichthyologifts exprefs 
the ftfh called faurus and lacertus by the moderns ; 
and by the Italians at Rome, tarantola. 
Artedi diftinguilhes it by the name of the of- 
merus, with eleven rays in the pinna ani. In the 
Linnsean fyitem, it is the falmo faurus with ten 
rays in the pinna ani. 
ZEBRA; the Equus Zebra of Linnsus. Whe- 
ther we confider fymmetry of fhape, or beauty 
of colours, this is perhaps the moft elegant of all 
quadrupeds. In it the figure and grace.ulnefs of 
the horfc are united with the nimblenefs of the 
In the moil valuable animals, the fpecics are 
few and diftin6V ; in the lower orders, they are nu- 
merous, and often blended. 1 here are only three 
animals of the horfe kind ; the horfe, which is the 
moft ftately and courageous ; the afs, which is the 
moft patient and humble; and the Zebra, wliich 
is the moft beautiful, but at the fame time the 
wildeft animal in nature. Nothing indeed can 
furpafs the delicate regularity of this creature's 
colour, or the luftious fmoothnefs of it's flcin : 
but, on the other hand, nothing can be more un- 
traftable and indocile. 
The Zebra is chiefly a native of the fouthern 
regions of Africa; and whole herds of them are 
fometimes obferved feeding in thofe extenfive 
plains which lie towards the Cape of Good Hope. 
However, their vigilance is fuch, that they will 
fuffer nothing to approach them ; and their fleet- 
nefs is fo great, that they inftandy leave every pur- 
fuer far behind. 
In fhape, the Zebra rather refembles the mule 
than the horfe or the afs. It is fomewhat inferior 
in fize to the former, but larger than the latter. 
It's ears are not fo long as thofe of the afs, and 
yet not fo fmall as in the horfe kind. Like the 
afs, the head is large, the back ftraight, the legs 
finely placed, and the tail tufted at the end. Like 
tl-e horfe, the fkin is fmooth and clofej and the 
pofteriors are round and flefliy. But it's moft 
diftinguifhing beauty lies in the amazing regu- 
larity and elegance of it's colours: in the male, 
are white and brown ; in the female, white 
ai, olack. Thefe colours are difpofed in alter- 
n.-.re ftripes over the whole body; and with fuch 
c:sa6liti; !e and fymmetry, that they appear as if 
ratu.'c had employed the rule and compafs to 
render them perfefl. The ftripes, which, like fo 
many ribbands, are laid all over the body, are nar- 
row, parallel, and diftinft from each other. It is 
not here as in other party-coloured animals, where 
the tints are blended and confufed: evrry ftripe 
in the Zebra is perfeclly feparate ; and preferves 
it's colour round the body or the limb, without 
any diminution. In this manner are the head, the 
body, the thighs, the legs, and even the tail and 
ears, beautifully ftreaked; fo that, at a litde dif- 
tance, a perfon unacquainted with the properties 
of this animal v/ould be apt to fuppofe that it was 
drefied out by art, and not thus admirably 
adorned by nature. 
In the male Zebra, the head is fl:riped with 
fine bands of black and, white, which in a manner 
center in the forehead ; the ears are curioufly va- 
riegated with white and dufky brown; and the 
neck has broad ftripes of the fame dark brown 
colour running round it, with narrow white ftripes 
between. The body is alfo ftriped acrofs the 
back with broad bands, having narrower fpaces 
of white between them, and terminating in points 
at the fides of the belly, which is white, except a 
black line peftinatcd on each fide, reaching from 
between the fore-legs, along the middle of the 
belly, about two thirds of it's length. There is a 
line of feparation between the trunk of the body 
and the hinder quarters on each fide; behind 
which, on the rump, there is a narrow plat of 
ftripes united together by a ftripe reaching down 
the middle to the extremity of the tail. 
In 
