quagga

American  

[kwag-uh, kwog-uh] / ˈkwæg ə, ˈkwɒg ə /

noun

1. an extinct equine mammal, Equus quagga, of southern Africa, related to and resembling the zebra, but striped only on the forepart of the body and the head.

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quagga British  

/ ˈkwæɡə /

noun

1. a recently extinct member of the horse family ( Equidae ), Equus quagga, of southern Africa: it had a sandy brown colouring with zebra-like stripes on the head and shoulders

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Etymology

Origin of quagga

1775–85; < Afrikaans (now spelling kwagga ) < Khoikhoi, first recorded as quácha (1691); said to be imitative of the animal's yelp

Example Sentences

Quagga mussels, finger-sized mollusks with voracious appetites, have become the dominant invasive species in the lower Great Lakes over the past 30 years, according to biologists.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023

Quagga mussels, native to Russia and Ukraine, were discovered in the Great Lakes in 1989, around the same time as their infamous cousin species, zebra mussels.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023

Quagga and zebra mussels, by contrast, feed on plankton at the bottom of the lake, a process that could be disrupted by the voracious swimming carp.

From Scientific American • Jul. 8, 2020

“The goby. The zebra mussel. The Quagga mussel. Pesticides. Aging sewage treatment facilities. Dropping water levels. Acid rain. Fertilizers. Global warming. Who knows?”

From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx

Quagga, effect of fecundation by, on the subsequent progeny of a mare, i. 403-404.

From The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Volume II (of 2) by Darwin, Charles