''Equus capensis'' (''E. capensis''), the Giant Cape zebra, is an extinct species of

zebra Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...

that lived during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. ''E. capensis'' was first described from the Cape Town region of South Africa in 1909. ''E. capensis'' can be estimated to have grown to about at the withers and in body mass. A 2009 DNA study analyzed several museum specimens identified as Cape zebras and concluded that all specimens tested clustered within the

plains zebra The plains zebra (''Equus quagga'', formerly ''Equus burchellii'') is the most common and geographically widespread species of zebra. Its range is fragmented, but spans much of southern and eastern Africa south of the Sahara. Six or seven subspec ...

, ''Equus quagga'', with ''E. q. quagga'' and ''E. q. burchelli'', rather than belonging to a distinct species.

References

Pleistocene horses Zebras Taxa named by Robert Broom Fossil taxa described in 1909 Pleistocene mammals of Africa {{paleo-oddtoedungulate-stub