Hartmann's mountain zebra (''Equus zebra hartmannae'') is a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of the

mountain zebra The mountain zebra (''Equus zebra'') is a zebra species in the family Equidae, native to southwestern Africa. There are two subspecies, the Cape mountain zebra (''E. z. zebra'') found in South Africa and Hartmann's mountain zebra (''E. z. hartma ...

found in far south-western

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

and western

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, easily distinguished from other similar zebra species by its

dewlap A dewlap is a longitudinal flap of skin or similar flesh that hangs beneath the lower jaw or neck of many vertebrates. More loosely, it can be various similar structures in the neck area, such as those caused by a double chin or the submandibula ...

as well as the lack of stripes on its belly.

Habitat and behaviour

They are agile climbers and are able to live in arid conditions and steep mountainous country. Hartmann's mountain zebras prefer to live in small groups ranging from as little as 3 individuals to as many as 12. Herds will either be a breeding herd comprising one stallion and potentially many mares or it will be a bachelor group that consists primarily of young males. Young males raised as foals within the breeding herds will generally be kicked out when they are as young as 24 months, whereafter they may become the stallions of their own breeding herds within 5 years. When two breeding herds come into contact with one another, each respective stallion will engage the other in an elaborate posturing ritual. Hartmann's mountain zebra has been described as an

ecosystem engineer An ecosystem engineer is any species that creates, significantly modifies, maintains or destroys a habitat. These organisms can have a large impact on species richness and landscape-level heterogeneity of an area. As a result, ecosystem engine ...

—while engaging in their unique dust bathing behavior they create a persistent depression known as a rolling pit. Even after the zebra abandons a rolling pit, they will generally remain visible for many years. These rolling pits appear to provide a favorable

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for the native vegetation—ultimately leading to denser growth throughout the pit.

Description

Hartmann's mountain zebras have a defining dewlap hanging from their throat and they are striped all the way down to their hooves with white bellies, whereas some other similar looking mountain zebra species only have stripes down to their knees and lack the completely white belly. Hartmann's mountain zebras have a "gridiron" of narrow stripes across their back, small dewlap under the chin, and no shadow stripes. They're very good climbers compared to the other species of zebra and they have very hard and pointed hooves. They are in the horse family (Equids) and related to common zebras. Although the status of this sub-species is better than that of the Cape mountain zebra of South Africa, it is still considered vulnerable to extinction. They are managed by the International Studbook for Hartmann's mountain zebra. They are skilled climbers and have very hard and pointed hooves compared to other zebras and equids. Hartmann's mountain zebras are known for their playful demeanor compared to other zebra species.

Taxonomy

It has been argued that Hartmann's mountain zebra should be considered a separate species from the Cape mountain zebra, but this is not supported by genetic evidence ''(see Mountain zebra#Taxonomy)''. Consequently, it is no longer considered a separate species in ''

Mammal Species of the World ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and Bibliographic database, bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, ...

''. 2005.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1034204 Hartmann's mountain zebra Mammals of Angola Mammals of Namibia Hartmann's mountain zebra Articles containing video clips