Animal Profiles
Mammals

Quagga

Equus quagga quagga

Extinct

The quagga subspecies is extinct. Plains zebras and other zebras are still living.

Status source

The quagga was an extinct southern African zebra with reduced striping toward the rear of the body. Preserved skins and a few skeletons are evidence of an animal lost through intensive human hunting.

Quagga, AI-generated lifelike reconstruction
AI-generated reconstruction. Colors and soft tissues are interpretive.

At a glance

Habitat
Grassland
Diet
Herbivore
Food
Grass and other vegetation.

Classification

Common name
Quagga
Browse group
Mammals
Scientific name or taxon
Equus quagga quagga
Taxon rank
subspecies
Order
Perissodactyla
Family
Equidae
Genus
Equus
Source classification
Mammalia

Taxonomy checked against GBIF. For breeds and hybrids, this describes the listed parent taxon.

Three things to know

  • The last known captive quagga died in 1883.
  • Its striping faded toward the rear.
  • Only a few complete skeletons survive.

Habitat and range

Quaggas lived in South Africa, grazing landscapes also sought for livestock. Hunting for skins and competition with farming contributed to their disappearance. The last known captive individual died in 1883.

Appearance and adaptations

The animal combined a zebra-like head and front-body stripes with much less striping farther back. Mounted skins show the external appearance, while rare skeletons preserve its anatomy.

Diet and behaviour

As a grazing equid, it fed on vegetation. Much behaviour was never studied systematically before extinction. Museum specimens now support research, with surviving skeletons requiring careful identification and conservation.

Sources

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