the 3 types of the zebras is unified with horses, donkeys and semi-donkeys in the type Equus. The Equus-Arten are so near together relative that they let themselves cross all among each other. One calls Zebroide horse-zebra-bastards, donkey-zebra-crossings are called Zebrulen. These crossings are sterile.
The name Zebra became from Portuguese seafarers in the 16. Century from Angola brought. It is a word about from a language of the there settling people.
One knows numerous forms of the zebras. they fells all into the variation-width of the today acknowledged subtypes.
Strip-drawing it is a showy characteristic, that definitely has its meaning. The strip-dress as protection-official dress has its value if one looks at it from some distance. If one sees zebras and gnus or other big antelopes simultaneously with light illumination, one determines that zebras become blurred the most strongly with the surroundings. The strip-pattern has a shape-dissolving effect. One speaks of Somatolyse with this appearance. This dissolving one and with it is hiding effect of the Streifung demonstrably. The question remains, before what protecting the zebra is. its main-enemy, the lion, would be to be hardly deceived by it. it tracks down zebras predominantly with its hearing and its sense of smell.
In its strip-pattern, no zebra resembles the other. Members of a herd recognize themselves mutually by the individual Streifung. This meaning of the zebra-drawing as individual signal and recognition-characteristic has undoubtedly big value for the social relationships of these animals.
Strips and stain-drawings are widespread with mammals and birds. they perform above all in youth-stages. Original characteristics seem to be Streifung and Fleckung. With the zebras, the Streifungsprinzip reached unique shaping.
The individual zebra-types are described mountain-zebra, Grevyzebra and steppe-zebra extensively in the articles.
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