Post by Infinity Blade on May 6, 2015 3:31:47 GMT 5
Quagga-Equus quagga quagga
A quagga mare at the London Zoo in 1870
Temporal range: Holocene (1883 CE)
Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Legion: Cladotheria
Sublegion: Zatheria
Infralegion: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Clade: Eutheria
Infraclass: Placentalia
Subcohort: Exafroplacentalia
Magnorder: Boreoeutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
Clade: Ungulata
Order: Perissodactyla
Suborder: Hippomorpha
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Subgenus: Hippotigris
Species: Equus quagga
Subspecies: †E. q. quagga
The quagga (E. q. quagga) was a subspecies of plains zebra (E. quagga) that lived in Africa until 1883 CE.
Etymology:
The animal earned its name from its call that went something by the likes of "kwa-ha-ha".[1]
Phylogeny:
It was the first extinct animal that had its DNA analyzed, it's species (E. quagga) shared a common ancestor with the mountain zebra (E. zebra) that lived in the Pliocene (4-3Ma),[2] and was phylogenetically closer to zebras than horses.[3] The quagga's genetic diversity was small and it only split away from other plains zebra during the last glacial maximum.[3]
Description:
E. q. quagga was ~257 centimeters in TL (total body length) and ~125-135 centimeters tall at the shoulder.[4] The anterior portion of the quagga's body possessed stripes as expected for a zebra, but the posterior portion had no stripes at all.[3] The stripes and upper portions were brown while the abdominal region, tail, and legs were white. Apparently, some individuals nearly completely lacked stripes while some others had possessed more stripes than usual.[4] Moreover, there was a broad, dark dorsal stripe and the brown and white-striped mane stood up.[5] Caro et al. (2014) conducted a study that supported the hypothesis that zebras evolved stripes as protection from ectoparasites (particularly biting flies). The quagga in particular apparently resided in regions where flies were less prominent than in other places inhabited by zebras.[6]
Extinction:
Quaggas were hunted by humans for sustenance and their hides. Its smaller habitat range would have made it more susceptible to extinction and it's likewise possible the quagga had to compete with domestic animals. The last known wild quagga died in 1878.[7] The last known quagga individual died in captivity on August 12, 1883.[8]
The last quagga with a great auk (Pinguinus impennis).
Quagga skeleton.
References:
[1] J.D. Skinner & Christian T. Chimimba (2005). The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region. pp. 537-546.
[2] "DNA sequences from the quagga, and extinct member of the horse family" (Higuchi et al., 1984).
[3] "A rapid loss of stripes: The evolutionary history of the extinct quagga" (Hofreiter et al., 2005).
[4] R.M. Nowak (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. pp. 1024-1025.
[5] Hugh Chisholm (1911). "Quagga". Encyclopædia Britannica.
[6] "The function of zebra stripes" (Caro et al., 2014).
[7] Conserving Living Natural Resources: In the Context of a Changing World. (B.J. Weddell, 2002).
[8] A.C. Bruggen (1959). Illustrated notes on some extinct South African ungulates.
A quagga mare at the London Zoo in 1870
Temporal range: Holocene (1883 CE)
Scientific classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
(unranked): Holozoa
(unranked): Filozoa
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Eugnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Superclass: Tetrapoda
Clade: Reptiliomorpha
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Synapsida
Clade: Eupelycosauria
Clade: Sphenacodontia
Clade: Sphenacodontoidea
Order: Therapsida
Suborder: Cynodontia
Clade: Prozostrodontia
Clade: Mammaliaformes
Class: Mammalia
Legion: Cladotheria
Sublegion: Zatheria
Infralegion: Tribosphenida
Subclass: Theria
Clade: Eutheria
Infraclass: Placentalia
Subcohort: Exafroplacentalia
Magnorder: Boreoeutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
Clade: Ungulata
Order: Perissodactyla
Suborder: Hippomorpha
Family: Equidae
Genus: Equus
Subgenus: Hippotigris
Species: Equus quagga
Subspecies: †E. q. quagga
The quagga (E. q. quagga) was a subspecies of plains zebra (E. quagga) that lived in Africa until 1883 CE.
Etymology:
The animal earned its name from its call that went something by the likes of "kwa-ha-ha".[1]
Phylogeny:
It was the first extinct animal that had its DNA analyzed, it's species (E. quagga) shared a common ancestor with the mountain zebra (E. zebra) that lived in the Pliocene (4-3Ma),[2] and was phylogenetically closer to zebras than horses.[3] The quagga's genetic diversity was small and it only split away from other plains zebra during the last glacial maximum.[3]
Description:
E. q. quagga was ~257 centimeters in TL (total body length) and ~125-135 centimeters tall at the shoulder.[4] The anterior portion of the quagga's body possessed stripes as expected for a zebra, but the posterior portion had no stripes at all.[3] The stripes and upper portions were brown while the abdominal region, tail, and legs were white. Apparently, some individuals nearly completely lacked stripes while some others had possessed more stripes than usual.[4] Moreover, there was a broad, dark dorsal stripe and the brown and white-striped mane stood up.[5] Caro et al. (2014) conducted a study that supported the hypothesis that zebras evolved stripes as protection from ectoparasites (particularly biting flies). The quagga in particular apparently resided in regions where flies were less prominent than in other places inhabited by zebras.[6]
Extinction:
Quaggas were hunted by humans for sustenance and their hides. Its smaller habitat range would have made it more susceptible to extinction and it's likewise possible the quagga had to compete with domestic animals. The last known wild quagga died in 1878.[7] The last known quagga individual died in captivity on August 12, 1883.[8]
The last quagga with a great auk (Pinguinus impennis).
Quagga skeleton.
References:
[1] J.D. Skinner & Christian T. Chimimba (2005). The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region. pp. 537-546.
[2] "DNA sequences from the quagga, and extinct member of the horse family" (Higuchi et al., 1984).
[3] "A rapid loss of stripes: The evolutionary history of the extinct quagga" (Hofreiter et al., 2005).
[4] R.M. Nowak (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World. pp. 1024-1025.
[5] Hugh Chisholm (1911). "Quagga". Encyclopædia Britannica.
[6] "The function of zebra stripes" (Caro et al., 2014).
[7] Conserving Living Natural Resources: In the Context of a Changing World. (B.J. Weddell, 2002).
[8] A.C. Bruggen (1959). Illustrated notes on some extinct South African ungulates.
