Przewalski's horse

/psheuh vahl"skeez, sheuh-/

a wild horse, Equus caballus przevalskii, chiefly of Mongolia and Sinkiang, characterized by light yellow coloring and a stiff, upright black mane with no forelock: the only remaining breed of wild horse, it is now endangered and chiefly maintained in zoos.

Also, Przevalski's horse. Cf. tarpan.

[after Nikolai Mikhailovich Przheval'skii (Pol Przewalski) (1839-88), Russian explorer, the animal's first European observer (1876)]

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Last wild equine subspecies (Equus caballus przewalskii) surviving into the 20th century.

It is yellowish or light red (dun) and stands 12–14 hands (48–56 in., 122–142 cm) high. It has a dark mane and tail and usually a stripe on the back. The mane is short and erect with no forelock. It was discovered in western Mongolia in the 1870s. The horse disappeared in the wild in the 1960s, but the descendants of specimens that had earlier been taken to European zoos began to be reintroduced into the Mongolian steppe in the 1990s.

Przewalski's horse (Equus caballus przewalskii).

Kenneth W. Fink from Root Resources

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▪ mammal

Przewalski also spelled  Przhevalsky,  Prejevalsky , or  Preyevalsky 

 (subspecies Equus caballus przewalskii), last wild horse subspecies surviving in the 21st century. It was discovered in western Mongolia in the late 1870s by the Russian explorer N.M. Przhevalsky (Przhevalsky, Nikolay Mikhaylovich). Several expeditions since 1969 have failed to find this horse, which probably crossed with half-wild domesticated horses and lost its distinct features. Specimens have been kept and bred in zoos, and Mongolia in the late 20th century attempted to reintroduce them into the wild.

      Przewalski's horse is yellowish or light red (sometimes called dun) in colour, with a dark mane and tail and, usually, a dorsal stripe. The mane is short and erect with no forelock. The low withers blend into a narrow back, and the croup is short and steep. About 12 to 14 hands (48 to 56 inches [122 to 142 cm]) tall, Przewalski's horse resembles a coarse domestic pony.

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