Equus capensis (Cape Zebra)

[RSN]

''Giant'' cape zebra
Equus (Quagga) capensis Broom, 1909
[is a member of subgenus Equus? (Eisenmann & Baylac, 2000)]

Another extinct plains zebra relative, but bigger, as the name suggest.

[RSN]

Who left the bones?

Brown hyaenas return to their den at daybreak 500,000 years ago while a herd of Cape zebras Equus capensis gallops past. Scavenged remnants are brought back for their pups, safe in a nearby burrow. Blackbacked jackals wait for an opportunity to steal a morsel. The Cape zebra, which only became extinct later about 12,000 years ago, was much larger than the modern plains zebra Equus burchelli quagga.

See the text picture, which show E. capensis:
www.museums.org.za/sh/arch/pics/elands6b.jpg

www.museums.org.za/sh/arch/hyenpage.htm

''A mixed-feeding Equus species from the middle Pleistocene of South Africa''

A good PDf with info on E. capensis: www.evolution.uni-greifswald.de/PDF/Quat%20Res%202004.pdf

[another specialist]

pic RSN found

[Peter]

I was wondering if this was a Holocene extinction...
I found this is the pdf that RSN posted:
The last appearance of E. capensis in Southern Africa was at the end of the Late Pleistocene (Klein, 1984). It is not known whether this horse survived after 10,000 years ago in other parts of Southern Africa.

[another specialist]

admin said:

I was wondering if this was a Holocene extinction...
I found this is the pdf that RSN posted:
The last appearance of E. capensis in Southern Africa was at the end of the Late Pleistocene (Klein, 1984). It is not known whether this horse survived after 10,000 years ago in other parts of Southern Africa.

but in RSN second entry it say the following

The Cape zebra, which only became extinct later about 12,000 years ago, was much larger than the modern plains zebra Equus burchelli quagga.

so its hard to say

[RSN]

May be it lived between these two times...

[slothlemur]

Is anything know of the size of this Zebra? They only said that it is much larger than the Plains Zebra, but i think it would be interesting to know the size of this Zebra.

[another specialist]

rsn said:

May be it lived between these two times...

Yes may be.

Generally i've noticed a varied range of periods for its existence thoughout the web.

[another specialist]

digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/1419/1/B032a25.pdf

[surroundx]

Thackeray, John Francis. (2015). Faunal Remains from Holocene Deposits, Excavation 1, Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa. African Archaeological Review. DOI
10.1007/s10437-015-9201-z [Abstract]

[surroundx]

Klein, Richard G. and Cruz-Uribe, Kathryn. (2016). Large mammal and tortoise bones from Elands Bay Cave (South Africa): implications for Later Stone Age environment and ecology. Southern African Humanities 29: 259-282.

[surroundx]

Helm, Charles W., Cawthra HC, De Vynck JC, Lockley MG, McCrea RT, Venter J. (2019). The Pleistocene fauna of the Cape south coast revealed through ichnology at two localities. S. Afr. J. Sci. 115(1/2): 5135.

[Sebbe]

Tracking the extinct giant Cape zebra (Equus capensis) on the Cape south coast of South Africa.

The giant Cape zebra (Equus capensis) is one of the extinct Quaternary large mammal species of southern Africa, and the largest equid from the Quaternary of Africa. Twenty-six Pleistocene equid tracksites have been identified in aeolianites on the Cape south coast of South Africa. An age range of 161 ± 12 ka to 43 ± 4 ka has been established through Optically Stimulated Luminescence. More than half of the sites contain large-equid tracks, representing the first ichnosites attributed to E. capensis. Smaller equid tracks may have been registered by the quagga (E. quagga quagga). The abundance of E. capensis tracksites on the Cape south coast contrasts with the paucity of body fossils of the species from the region, contrasting with the impression obtained from the body fossil record that E. capensis was predominantly a west coast species in the region. The new data illustrate the capacity of the body fossil and trace fossil records to complement each other. The loss of suitable habitat provided by the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain was probably a contributing factor in the extinction of this large-bodied grazer. A long trackway at Driefontein, attributed to E. capensis, adds to a sparse global record of fossil horse trackways.

www.cambridge.org/core/journals/quaternary-research/article/tracking-the-extinct-giant-cape-zebra-equus-capensis-on-the-cape-south-coast-of-south-africa/D410B4D755781DC0206CB810A35CC74E