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The African wild ass or African wild donkey (''Equus africanus'') is a wild member of the horse family, Equidae. This species is believed to be the ancestor of the domestic donkey, which is usually placed within the same species. They live in the deserts and other arid areas of the Horn of Africa, in Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. It formerly had a wider range north and west into Sudan, Egypt, and Libya. About 570 individuals exist in the wild. ==Taxonomy== Different authors consider the African wild ass and the domesticated donkey one or two species; either view is technically legitimate, though the former is phylogenetically more accurate. The species name for the African wild ass is sometimes given as ''asinus'', from the domestic donkey, whose specific name is older and usually would have priority. But this usage is erroneous since the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature has conserved the name ''Equus africanus'' in Opinion 2027. This was done to prevent the confusing situation of the phylogenetic ancestor being taxonomically included in its descendant. Thus, if one species is recognized, the correct scientific name of the donkey is ''E. africanus asinus''. The first published name for the African wild ass, ''Asinus africanus'', Fitzinger, 1858, is a nomen nudum.〔 The name ''Equus taeniopus'' von Heuglin, 1861〔 Heuglin Th. v (1861). "Th. v. Heuglin’s Forschungen über die Fauna des Rothen Meeres und der Somáli-Kuste. Ein systematisches Verzeichniss der Säugethiere und Vögel, welche in diesen Regionen bisher beobachtet worden sind, mit Rücksicht auf ihre geographische Verbreitung in horizontaler und vertikaler Ausdehnung". ''Mittheilungen aus Justus Perthes’ Geographischer Anstalt über Wichtige Neue Erforschungen auf dem Gesammtgebiete der Geographie von Dr A. Petermann (“Petermann’s Geographische Mittheilungen”)'': 11-32.〕 is rejected as indeterminable, as it is based on an animal that cannot be identified and may have been a hybrid between a domestic donkey and a Somali wild ass; the type has not been preserved.〔 The first available name thus becomes ''Asinus africanus'' von Heuglin & Fitzinger, 1866.〔〔 A lectotype is designated: a skull of an adult female collected by von Heuglin near Atbarah River, Sudan, and present in the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, MNS 32026.〔 The two subspecies recognized are the Nubian wild ass ''Equus africanus africanus'' (von Heuglin & Fitzinger, 1866),〔 and the Somali wild ass ''Equus africanus somaliensis'' (Noack, 1884).〔〔 Noack Th. (1884). "Neues aus der Tierhandlung von Karl Hagenbeck, sowie aus dem Zoologischen Garten in Hamburg". ''Der Zoologische Garten'' 25: 100-115.〕 ==Description== The African wild ass is long and (51 to 59 in) tall at the shoulders, with a tail long. It weighs between . The short, smooth coat is a light grey to fawn colour, fading quickly to white on the undersides and legs. There is a slender, dark dorsal stripe in all subspecies, while in the Nubian wild ass (''E. a. africanus''), as well as the domestic donkey, there is a stripe across the shoulder. The legs of the Somali wild ass (''E. a. somaliensis'') are horizontally striped with black, resembling those of a zebra. On the nape of the neck, there is a stiff, upright mane, the hairs of which are tipped with black. The ears are large with black margins. The tail terminates with a black brush. The hooves are slender and approximately of the diameter as the legs.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「African wild ass」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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