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Glite Dictionary
Equus burchellii

Equus burchellii

9.8
A zebra with black and white stripes that lives on African plains
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : Equus burchellii
  • The black and white stripes of Equus burchellii help it blend into the grassy plains.

Examples

  • Researchers are studying the migration patterns of Equus burchellii across the Serengeti.

  • The Equus burchellii is the most common and widespread species of zebra in Africa.

  • The Equus burchellii is known for its distinctive stripes.

  • Have you ever seen an Equus burchellii in the wild?

  • Researchers are studying the migration patterns of Equus burchellii across the Serengeti.

  • The Equus burchellii is the most common and widespread species of zebra in Africa.

  • The black and white stripes of Equus burchellii help it blend into the grassy plains.

Synonyms

zebra
vsEquus burchellii
40 1.0

A large animal from Africa like a horse with black and white stripes

is the scientific label for one specific species rather than the general animal
Burchell's zebra
vsEquus burchellii
  • South African
7.7

A wild animal like a horse with broad black and white stripes from parts of Africa

is the scientific name for the whole species rather than that subgroup
common zebra
vsEquus burchellii
  • South African
2.3

A large wild animal like a horse with black and white stripes that lives in African grasslands

is the scientific name for that plains species not the other named species

Surface Forms

Equus burchellii singular
Equus burchelliis plural

Morphology

Equus + burchellii

The form follows a transparent Linnaean genus+species structure so a learner who knows 'Equus' can infer it denotes an equid (a horse-like mammal), but 'burchellii' is an eponymic Latin species epithet with no lexical meaning for learners and does not signal 'plains zebra'. Therefore the compound gives partial information (the taxonomic category) but not the specific referent, so a B1 learner would not reliably derive the full meaning.

Etymology

Equus burchellii may come from two parts: Equus, a word meaning 'horse', and burchellii, the name of a traveler called Burchell who studied African animals. Because zebras look like striped horses, the name helps us remember that this is a horse-like species from Africa.