And there are also the variations we see genetically.
Are zebras with black stripes black skin#
It was long thought to be a distinct species, but early genetic studies have supported it being a subspecies of plains zebra. It had minimal striping on its head, mane, and neck, according to The Quagga Project.īut we still need an answer to the questionĭespite all the differences in stripe patterns, all zebras have the same skin color: black, said Tim Caro, a behavioral and evolutionary ecologist and conservation biologist at the University of California, Davis.Įven still, we have to look at the zebra’s melanocytes, or the cells that produce pigment for their fur, to decide if a zebra is white with black stripes or vice versa. Source – Biodiversity Heritage Library/Frederick York (d. The image is dated 1870 and is the only specimen photographed alive. Quagga (Equus quagga quagga) is an extinct subspecies of zebra. This zebra was endemic to South Africa until it was hunted to extinction in the late 19th century by European settler-colonists. It is worth mentioning that there was a fourth species of zebra called the quagga ( E. And if this is not enough to confuse you, for some zebras, the darker portions of their hide are black, whereas others have browner coloring, and some have stripes only on their bodies but not on their legs. While the stripes on every zebra are unique to each individual, the three species each have a different striping pattern. There are three living species, the Grévy’s zebra ( Equus grevyi), plains zebra ( E.
Zebras are African equines of the genus Equus (the same as horses) and belong to the subspecies Hippotigris. Zebras are iconic for their distinctive black and white stripes, but have you ever wondered whether zebras are white with black stripes or black with white stripes?
Aerial view from a helicopter of a group of Burchell's plains zebras (Equus quagga burchellii), Okavango Delta, Botswana.
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