Abstract
ABSTRACTMare taxidermy specimens of quaggas (Equus quagga quagga, an extinct subspecies of the plains zebra that was endemic to South Africa) are significantly longer and marginally taller than stallions – unlike the situation in extant subspecies of plains zebras where the stallions are usually larger than the mares. The possibilities that these differences were due to sampling error, shrinkage of the hides, or distortion during specimen mounting are addressed. It is likely, however, that the taxidermy specimens reflect a sexual dimorphism that existed in quaggas. Differences in body size between mares and stallions might have been an adaptation to their comparatively cold and arid environment, or it might have been caused by genetic drift in a geographically isolated population, or it might have been brought about by a combination of these circumstances.
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