Horses and Zebras.

Otago Witness, Issue 2524, 30 July 1902, Page 64

Horses and Zebras.

On Thiii&dciv, May 22, Professor J. Cos&ar Kwart, F.R.S. , delivered an interesting lecture on hor&es and zebias in the meeting room of the Zoological Society. No. 3 Hanover square. Dr Hemy Woodwaid, F.R S., vice-president, occupied the chair, and in introducing the lecturer referred to his expeiiments in the production of zebra hybrids-. Professor (Jos>.*ar Ewart taid that had ha been called on a year ago to deliver one of this series of lectures his subject would have been zebras ; but since that cime a number of Piejevalsky'-s horses had been captured, some of which had been brought to England. For that tea.son he had widened hi^ subject, and proposed to say something about these wild hois.es and the ancestors of the domestic hor«e.

About 30 years ago the Ru&sian traveller I'rejevalsky brought back from As-ia the skin of a new horse, or horselike animal, which had been captured by camel-hunters near the Altai range, and tins, animal was described and named in his honour "Kqmnprejevalskii," by PoliaW, in 1881. In 1891 the brothers Grijmailo. while exploring the desert of Dzungaria, obtained frer-h material which confirmed the conclusions of Poliakof. The late Sir William Flower took great interest in the discovery, but was far from being convinced that the animal was a distinct species. Indeed, he *-n£gP!»t o d that itmight be nothing more than an accidental hybrid between the domestic horse of the district and the Asiatic ..wild ass. The lecturer then showed specimens of tlie hoof of the horse, the zebra. «nd the as« ? -uid pointed out the characters in which th-ey diftered. Prejeval^ky's horse haJ the hoofs of a true horse, as well a.- the chestnut- or callosities on all four limbs, while in the zebras and asses these were absent on the 1-nd lnnb«. The general ,ippe t .rance of the anim <1 lent some suppoit to the theory of liybiidity. and it bore a resemblance to the kiang in the mane .-nd tivil. But ag.uni-t tins were to be set many imj)ortant f.«ct . The members oi a herd nf these hoi.se'.. aie very much ;ihke, while In bruU vaj-y greatly, <>nd. instead of bung sterile, like mules, iiiey .ie jji-if'jctlv feirih. To establish the theory of hybndity it would be necessary to produce a ferfile hybrid by crossing the kiang with the domes-tic hoi ?e. But 'nil this wds done it w.i- safe to assume that the wild hor«e of CtnM..l A.-ia wa- lightly given fpecific distinction .uid to be regarded as the only tiuu li\iiig wild horse. Pio-f'.-MW Kwait tlien de-iribsd thp habitat and made of opture of rTn.> specie«, and passed on to consider the ancestors of the domestichorse, -oine knowledge of winch had been obtained fi om the etching-- of Paleolithic in, in. ieio\M((' fiom the ( ive dwellings of Western Knropp A* tb'it penod there nai-l have tiisted in Ktuojie two distinct l >ce-. the dL-ceiuh.nt- of wii.ch might still brt tiactd One l.ice w.is sni ill and stout, with .i l.n ue he.id aiid Roman no-e. from »\ lucli stock the heavy c.it horse probably ongm.itcil In the other r.ice the head was "mall .uid ll.i- limb- were -lender. To tins 1 -luck, tlii i> - w.'^ huh doubt, were to be .i-mbul the ])Diii'.i once common in Kng3 in-]. ,md - rlllr 1 1 1 to be found in Iceland and i ihei isolated area- Besides thee there me the slLiider-liinbcd eastern holies, so that tlie domestic } or-e could hardly be li.iced back, ;'* wis formeily thought powble, tc> a -ingle stock

The lectmer then parsed to the zebra*-, dpdlint; fir>t tlie mountain zebra of Ctice Coloiijj and pointed, out its ciiaf&cv

vcristic marking — the "gridiron' pattern on the rump — and the strong striping right down to the hoofs. There was also, he said, a mountain form in Angola. The other forms described were the Somali zebra — often known as Grevy's ; Bnrchell's zebra, with its numerous sub-species or local races, including Grant's zebra, an. example of which was presented last year by the Emperor MeneliU to the King, by whom it was deposited in the Zoological Gardens. Last of all came the quagga, in which Professor Ewart believed the striping had been lost, from the absence of any need for protective resemblance. The lecture was very fully illustrated by a series of lantern slides from photographs orf the forms dealt with, the hybrids bred by the lecturer, and Diagrammatic representations of zebra striping. The skins of different species of zebra and of a young wild horse were also exhibited. At the close of the lecture a coidial vote of thanks wa& awarded to Professor Copsar Ewart.