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The onager, also known as hemione or Asiatic wild ass (''Equus hemionus'') is a large Equid of the family Equidae (horse family) native to Asia. Unlike most horses, donkeys and even zebras, the onagers have never been domesticated. The onagers are among the fastest mammals, as they can run as fast as 64 km/h (40 mph) to 70 km/h (43 mph). The onager is closely related to the African wild ass, as they both shared the same ancestor. The kiang, formerly considered a subspecies of the genus ''Equus hemionus'', diverged from the Asiatic wild ass and has been acknowledged as a distinct species. The onager formerly had a wider range from southwest, central to northern Asian countries, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Russia and Siberia. During early 20th century, the species lost most of its ranges in the Middle East and Eastern Asia. Today the onagers live in deserts and other arid regions of Iran, Pakistan, India and Mongolia, including in Central Asian hot and cold deserts of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and China. Other than deserts, it lives in grasslands, plains, steppes and savannahs. Like many other large grazing animals, the onager's range has contracted greatly under the pressures of poaching and habitat loss.〔 Of the five subspecies, one is extinct, one is critically endangered and three are endangered〔 (their status in China is not well known〔). The Persian onagers are currently being reintroduced in the Middle East as replacement for the extinct Syrian wild ass. ==Etymology and taxonomy== The specific name is Ancient Greek ἡμίονος (hēmíonos), from ἡμι- (hēmi-), half, and ὄνος (ónos), donkey; thus, half-donkey or mule. In Persian the archaic word ''gur'' preserves the second syllable of the common Indo-European term that includes ''ona''/''ono'' (donkey) and ''ger''/''gur'' (swift). The species was commonly known as Asian wild ass, in which case the term "onager" was reserved for the ''E. h. onager'' subspecies,〔 more specifically known as the Persian onager. Until this day, the species share the same name, "onager". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「onager」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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