," but, most probably, it belongs to the genus
_asinus_.

Now there are four other species of "wild-asses" in Africa--wild horses
some call them--and a fifth reported by travellers, but as yet
undetermined. These species bear such a resemblance to one another in
their form, the peculiar markings of their bodies, size, and general
habits, that they may be classed together under the title of the _zebra_
family. First, there is the true zebra (_Equus zebra_), perhaps the
most beautiful of all quadrupeds, and of which no description need be
given. Second, the "dauw," or "Burchell's zebra," as it is more
frequently called (_Equus Burchellii_). Third, the "Congo dauw" (_Equus
hippotigris_), closely resembling the dauw. Fourth, the "quagga"
(_Equus quagga_); and fifth, the undetermined species known as the
"white zebra" (_Equus Isabellinus_), so-called from its pale yellow, or
Isabella colour.

These five species evidently have a close affinity with each other--all
of them being more or less marked with the peculiar transversal bands or
"stripes," which are the well-known characteristics of the zebra. Even
the quagga is so banded upon the head and upper parts of its body.

The zebra proper is "striped" from the tip of the nose to its very
hoofs, and the bands are of a uniform black, while the ground colour is
nearly white, or white tinged with a pale yellow. The "dauws," on the
other hand, are not banded upon the legs; the rays are not so dark or
well defined, and the ground colour is not so pure or clean-looking.
For the rest, all these three species are much alike; and it is more
than probable that either "Burchell's" or the "congo dauw", was the
species to which the name of "zebra" was first applied; for that which
is now called the "true zebra" inhabits those parts of Africa where it
was less likely to have been the first observed of that genus. At all
events, the "congo dauw" is the "hippotigris," or tiger-horse, of the
Romans; and this we infer from its inhabiting a more northerly part of
Africa than the others, all of which belong to the southern half of that
continent. The habitat of the zebra is said to extend as far north as
Abyssinia; but, perhaps, the "congo dauw," which certainly inhabits
Abyssinia, has been mistaken for the true zebra.

Of the four species in South Africa, the zebra is a mountain animal, and
dwells among the cliffs, while the dauw and quagga rove over the plains
and wild karoo desert