1, analyzed the striping and geographic ranges of these species and subspecies, comparing them to the geographic ranges of biting flies known as tabanids, which can carry disease. No animal has a more distinctive coat than the zebra.

The new study, published in the journal Nature Communications on Apr. When all the zebras keep together as a big group, the pattern of each zebras stripes blends in with the stripes of the zebras around it. Many African animals sport some stripes on their bodies. Within these species, some subspecies have more or less striping. Zebras' thick, black stripes may have evolved to help these iconic creatures stay cool in the midday African heat, a new study suggests. Therefore zebras are protected by their stripes and flies cannot land on them to bite. On the African continent, certain insects, like flies, carry harmful diseases. A common theory is that zebras evolved to have these stripes to dazzle flies. Three have prominent black and white stripes, like the zebra, one has stripes only on its lower legs, and the other three have gray or brown coats with no stripes. The reason why zebras have stripes has been a subject of debate for around 150 years. There are seven species of equids that the researchers analyzed. The flies are attracted to light reflecting off water, which is twisted in a certain way known as 'linear polarized.' The researchers proposed that the black and white stripes of the zebra created an opposite polarizing effect in the flies' eyes by confusing them. The primary advantage of a zebras stripes is to repel bloodsucking flies, researchers say. The narrower the stripes, the fewer flies. Of the seven extant wild equid species, three have prominent black and white stripes (plains, Equus burchelli mountain, E. Researchers say theyve definitively solved the century-old riddle, and it has to do with flies.

The first is as simple pattern-camouflage, much like the type the military uses in its fatigue design. zebra, any of three species of strikingly black-and-white striped mammals of the horse family Equidae (genus Equus ): the plains zebra ( E. a social function like individual recognition. Zoologists believe stripes offer zebras protection from predators in a couple of different ways. There had been four main hypotheses to explain why zebras have their stripes: camouflage to avoid large predators. The researchers found that a zebra statue with a striped coat attracted fewer horseflies than a zebra statue with a brown, white, grey, or black coat. Mayela Lopez/AFP/ Getty Images To humans, a zebra's stripes stick out like a sore thumb, so it's hard to imagine that the stripes act as camouflage. The idea was first put forth by researchers in the Journal Of Experimental Biology last year. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

Zebras have stripes