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.

---

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

---

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, 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 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 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

Though, stay!—ah, yes! at last I see Why the queer Quagga has to be: Were there no Quaggas, how would you Find any beast to stand for Q?

From Boys and Girls Bookshelf; a Practical Plan of Character Building, Volume I (of 17) Fun and Thought for Little Folk by Wheeler, Daniel Edwin