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Description
Equus quagga quagga

Humans have caused extinctions to many magnificent animals throughout history. Only in the last century or so have we truly begun to preserve these species not for the purpose of preserving them for the rich to hunt, but to preserve magnificent species on the planet. Among the most recognizable animals that went extinct due to human causes is a subspecies of zebra, the Quagga.

Name and History:

The word “Quagga” is a word derived from the native South African Peoples of the Khoekhoe. It’s a version of the onomatopoeic word “llkoaah” which resembles a zebra’s call. Even today, it is still used today to describe the plains zebra, which is what the Quagga is a subspecies of. Its entire trinomial name is “Equus quagga quagga” making this animal the type subspecies of plains zebra.
Fossil finds of the Quagga are somewhat of a headscratcher. Mainly because of the fragmentary nature of African equids. Fossils that fall into the range (geographically and temporally) of the Quagga are few and far between, however, DNA has offered some clarity into its evolution.
Initially, naturalist Pieter Boddaert described it as a distinctive species of Zebra back in 1785. He dubbed it: Equus quagga, however, subsequent studies from 1902 after its extinction called this into question. Zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock, suggested this animal was just a subspecies of plains zebra. This was debated back and forth until 1984 when this was the first extinct animal to have its DNA analyzed. The studies into the DNA proved this was indeed a subspecies of plain zebra. Studies indicate that evolutionarily, the Quagga diverged from the other plains zebra subspecies only around 120-290,000 years ago. Thus, it was given the aforementioned trinomial name.

Description:

The Quagga was a moderately sized equid, roughly 4ft tall and around 8ft long. Weighing in at around 300-500lbs, dimension-wise it resembled the plains zebra. What’s interesting is that based on studies of skins and skeletons is that the mares (females) are longer and taller than stallions (males). Very interesting given it’s usually the other way around in other zebras. The more obvious difference is the coat of this animal being extremely unique amongst equids. Modern zebras have distinctive black and white patterns with some distinction here and there, with some being more black/white than others, or having a tinge of brown or grey in their coats. The Quagga on the other hand, had a mix of white and brown stripes on the head, fading as it moved down the neck and eventually faded completely into a solid brown color. In other words, the Quagga had a zebra-like coat at the front of its body, fading into more horse-like in the rear. Like most other Zebra subspecies, it had a distinctive mane where stripes were visible on the fur. Probably most distinctive of all was a woollier coat compared to other Zebras. Being at the southernmost end of Zebras’ range, it needed some insulation. Its winter coat would molt once a year, this is visible in a couple museum specimens in Europe with a thicker coat on the animal.

Behavior:

Behaviorally, they probably lived like modern-day plains zebra. Living off the grassland, grazing their days away on the savannah’s vegetation. They lived in herds of 30-50 animals, which was smaller than many other (sub)species of zebra. They were also said to have been more docile than their contemporary subspecies, Burchell's Zebra.

For decades prior to extinction, the Quagga was thought to have been a suitable candidate for domestication of the zebra genera. Being more docile than other Zebra (sub)species, however, that ultimately failed as various breeding attempts with other captive horses fell through.

Extinction:

When the Dutch and British colonists settled in Africa, that signified the end of this magnificent African equid. It had a limited range to begin with, largely confined to South Africa. By the 1850s, much of its range had diminished across South Africa, the last wild population was confined to the Orange Free State. By 1878, that population was gone. Only creatures in zoos remained at that point.
Only 5 known photographs exist and it's of a mare from London Zoo taken between 1863 and 1870. In that zoo they attempted to breed it, however, it was halted when the stallion rammed its head against the wall and died from injury. The mare had passed by 1872, followed by one in Berlin in 1875, and finally, a mare in Natura Artis Magistra died in 1883.

Possible Revival:

Today, projects and research across the world are attempting to bring these unique equids back from extinction. In 1987, Reinhold Rau began a project to breed back the Quagga by selectively breeding plains zebra subspecies to get an animal that resembled the African equid. Furthermore, as being such a recent extinction, cloning has been proposed, alongside other iconic animals like the Mammoth, Thylacine and Moas. However, the technology has not yet reached a point where humans can properly clone extinct species. Hopefully, one day the technology will get there, and humans may see these animals back in their native range.

Whether or not they are successful in either cloning or breeding back these magnificent animals, ultimately, its extinction is a reminder of the power humans have and how quickly these awesome animals can go extinct.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

An iconic animal from the 1800s, tragically extinct due to human causes. Making dinosaurs, extinct elephants, and marine creatures is fun, but I thought I’d try a more recent animal made by my good aquaintance, Lgcfm. The pose is based off of one of the London photographs.

Will this be in PMP? No. I am going to Africa, but definitely not going to target this time range. The main reasons are that the fauna aside from a handful of animals is largely unchanged in terms of the environment. You got to go back to the early Pliocene before you see more differences in the fauna.

Want a Source, well, here it is:

Natuurtijdschriften: Africa – the Evolution of a Continent and its Large Mammal Fauna

Anyway, as I said in the last profile, PMP is coming, just putting the finishing touches on it. Targeting Christmas Eve for the release and I hope I can stick to it. Then I'm going to take a break, wait for my acquaintances to finish other animals, and hopefully be back by spring.

Quagga by Lgcfm:
Quagga (Lgcfm) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom

Description
Equus quagga quagga

Humans have caused extinctions to many magnificent animals throughout history. Only in the last century or so have we truly begun to preserve these species not for the purpose of preserving them for the rich to hunt, but to preserve magnificent species on the planet. Among the most recognizable animals that went extinct due to human causes is a subspecies of zebra, the Quagga.

Name and History:

The word “Quagga” is a word derived from the native South African Peoples of the Khoekhoe. It’s a version of the onomatopoeic word “llkoaah” which resembles a zebra’s call. Even today, it is still used today to describe the plains zebra, which is what the Quagga is a subspecies of. Its entire trinomial name is “Equus quagga quagga” making this animal the type subspecies of plains zebra.
Fossil finds of the Quagga are somewhat of a headscratcher. Mainly because of the fragmentary nature of African equids. Fossils that fall into the range (geographically and temporally) of the Quagga are few and far between, however, DNA has offered some clarity into its evolution.
Initially, naturalist Pieter Boddaert described it as a distinctive species of Zebra back in 1785. He dubbed it: Equus quagga, however, subsequent studies from 1902 after its extinction called this into question. Zoologist Reginald Innes Pocock, suggested this animal was just a subspecies of plains zebra. This was debated back and forth until 1984 when this was the first extinct animal to have its DNA analyzed. The studies into the DNA proved this was indeed a subspecies of plain zebra. Studies indicate that evolutionarily, the Quagga diverged from the other plains zebra subspecies only around 120-290,000 years ago. Thus, it was given the aforementioned trinomial name.

Description:

The Quagga was a moderately sized equid, roughly 4ft tall and around 8ft long. Weighing in at around 300-500lbs, dimension-wise it resembled the plains zebra. What’s interesting is that based on studies of skins and skeletons is that the mares (females) are longer and taller than stallions (males). Very interesting given it’s usually the other way around in other zebras. The more obvious difference is the coat of this animal being extremely unique amongst equids. Modern zebras have distinctive black and white patterns with some distinction here and there, with some being more black/white than others, or having a tinge of brown or grey in their coats. The Quagga on the other hand, had a mix of white and brown stripes on the head, fading as it moved down the neck and eventually faded completely into a solid brown color. In other words, the Quagga had a zebra-like coat at the front of its body, fading into more horse-like in the rear. Like most other Zebra subspecies, it had a distinctive mane where stripes were visible on the fur. Probably most distinctive of all was a woollier coat compared to other Zebras. Being at the southernmost end of Zebras’ range, it needed some insulation. Its winter coat would molt once a year, this is visible in a couple museum specimens in Europe with a thicker coat on the animal.

Behavior:

Behaviorally, they probably lived like modern-day plains zebra. Living off the grassland, grazing their days away on the savannah’s vegetation. They lived in herds of 30-50 animals, which was smaller than many other (sub)species of zebra. They were also said to have been more docile than their contemporary subspecies, Burchell's Zebra.

For decades prior to extinction, the Quagga was thought to have been a suitable candidate for domestication of the zebra genera. Being more docile than other Zebra (sub)species, however, that ultimately failed as various breeding attempts with other captive horses fell through.

Extinction:

When the Dutch and British colonists settled in Africa, that signified the end of this magnificent African equid. It had a limited range to begin with, largely confined to South Africa. By the 1850s, much of its range had diminished across South Africa, the last wild population was confined to the Orange Free State. By 1878, that population was gone. Only creatures in zoos remained at that point.
Only 5 known photographs exist and it's of a mare from London Zoo taken between 1863 and 1870. In that zoo they attempted to breed it, however, it was halted when the stallion rammed its head against the wall and died from injury. The mare had passed by 1872, followed by one in Berlin in 1875, and finally, a mare in Natura Artis Magistra died in 1883.

Possible Revival:

Today, projects and research across the world are attempting to bring these unique equids back from extinction. In 1987, Reinhold Rau began a project to breed back the Quagga by selectively breeding plains zebra subspecies to get an animal that resembled the African equid. Furthermore, as being such a recent extinction, cloning has been proposed, alongside other iconic animals like the Mammoth, Thylacine and Moas. However, the technology has not yet reached a point where humans can properly clone extinct species. Hopefully, one day the technology will get there, and humans may see these animals back in their native range.

Whether or not they are successful in either cloning or breeding back these magnificent animals, ultimately, its extinction is a reminder of the power humans have and how quickly these awesome animals can go extinct.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

An iconic animal from the 1800s, tragically extinct due to human causes. Making dinosaurs, extinct elephants, and marine creatures is fun, but I thought I’d try a more recent animal made by my good aquaintance, Lgcfm. The pose is based off of one of the London photographs.

Will this be in PMP? No. I am going to Africa, but definitely not going to target this time range. The main reasons are that the fauna aside from a handful of animals is largely unchanged in terms of the environment. You got to go back to the early Pliocene before you see more differences in the fauna.

Want a Source, well, here it is:

Natuurtijdschriften: Africa – the Evolution of a Continent and its Large Mammal Fauna

Anyway, as I said in the last profile, PMP is coming, just putting the finishing touches on it. Targeting Christmas Eve for the release and I hope I can stick to it. Then I'm going to take a break, wait for my acquaintances to finish other animals, and hopefully be back by spring.

Quagga by Lgcfm:
Quagga (Lgcfm) | ZT2 Download Library Wiki | Fandom