page_title: Zebra
section_title: Characteristics
hierarchical_section_title: Zebra / Characteristics
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Equus grevyi, Equidae, Grevyzebra. Schädel, komplettes Skelett, linker Vorderfuß frontal, linker Vorderfuß lateral; Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Deutschland. English: Equus grevyi, Equidae, Grévy's Zebra, Imperial Zebra. Cranium, complete skeleton, left forefoot frontal, left forefoot lateral; Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Germany. Français&#160;: Crâne, squelette complet, et deux vues (latérales et frontale) de la patte avant gauche d'un Zèbre de Grévy (Equus grevyi, Equidae), parfois appelé zèbre impérial. Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe (Musée national d'histoirne naturelle de Karlsruhe), Allemagne.
context_page_description: Zebras are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three extant species: the Grévy's zebra, plains zebra and the mountain zebra. Zebras belong to the subgenus Hippotigris and share the genus Equus with horses and asses, the three groups being the only living members of the family Equidae. Zebra stripes come in different patterns, unique to each individual. Several theories have been proposed for the function of these stripes, with most evidence supporting them as a form of protection from biting flies. Zebras inhabit eastern and southern Africa and can be found in a variety of habitats such as savannahs, grasslands, woodlands, shrublands and mountainous areas.
  Zebras are primarily grazers and can subsist on lower-quality vegetation. They are preyed on mainly by lions and typically flee when threatened but also bite and kick. Zebra species differ in social behaviour, with plains and mountain zebra living in stable harems consisting of an adult male or stallion, several adult females or mares, and their young or foals; while Grévy's zebra live alone or in loosely associated herds.
context_section_description: As with all wild equines, zebra have barrel-chested bodies with tufted tails, elongated faces and long necks with long, erect manes. Their elongated, slender legs end in a single spade-shaped toe covered in a hard hoof. Their dentition is adapted for grazing; they have large incisors that clip grass blades and highly crowned, ridged molars well suited for grinding. Males have spade-shaped canines, which can be used as weapons in fighting. The eyes of zebras are at the sides and far up the head, which allows them to see above the tall grass while grazing. Their moderately long, erect ears are movable and can locate the source of a sound.
  Unlike horses, zebras and asses have chestnut callosities only on their front limbs. In contrast to other living equines, zebra forelimbs are longer than their back limbs. Diagnostic traits of the zebra skull include: its relatively small size with a straight profile, more projected eye sockets, narrower rostrum, reduced postorbital bar, a V-shaped groove separating the metaconid and metastylid of the teeth and both halves of the enamel wall being rounded.
caption: Skeleton of a Grévy's zebra at the State Museum of Natural History Karlsruhe
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