{{Short description|Subgenus of mammals}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = ''Asinus'' | image = Equus hemionus kulan.JPG | image_caption = Turkmenian kulan (''Equus hemionus kulan'') | taxon = Equus (Asinus) | authority = Gray, 1824 | type_species = ''Equus hemionus'' | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = ''Equus africanus''<br> ''Equus asinus''<br> ''Equus hemionus''<br> ''Equus kiang''<br> {{extinct}}''Equus hydruntinus'' | range_map = Wild asses range.png | range_map_caption = Range of the three living wild ass species }}
'''''Asinus''''' is a subgenus of ''Equus'' that encompasses several subspecies of the Equidae commonly known as '''wild asses''' or '''wild donkeys''', characterized by long ears, a lean, straight-backed build, lack of a true withers, a coarse mane and tail, and a reputation for considerable toughness and endurance.
The common donkey is the best-known domesticated representative of the subgenus, with both domesticated and feral varieties. Among the wild ass species, several never-domesticated species live in Asia and Africa, with the extinct European wild ass species formerly inhabiting Europe.
==Taxonomy== * Genus: ''Equus'' ** Subgenus: ''Asinus'' *** African wild ass, ''Equus africanus''<ref>{{cite book|title=Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference |editor=Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|year=2005|edition=3rd|chapter=Equus asinus|url=https://www.departments.bucknell.edu/biology/resources/msw3/browse.asp?id=14100004}}</ref><ref name=Opinion2007>{{cite journal|last=International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature|year=2003|title=Usage of 17 specific names based on wild species which are pre-dated by or contemporary with those based on domestic animals (Lepidoptera, Osteichthyes, Mammalia): conserved. Opinion 2027 (Case 3010).|journal=Bull. Zool. Nomencl.|volume=60|issue=1|pages=81–kksiss84|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted_sites/iczn/BZNMar2003opinions.htm|format=Summary}}</ref> **** Nubian wild ass, ''Equus africanus africanus'' **** Somali wild ass, ''Equus africanus somaliensis'' **** Atlas wild ass, †''Equus africanus atlanticus'' (extinct 1st millennium AD) **** Donkey, ''Equus africanus asinus'' ***Onager or Asiatic wild ass, ''Equus hemionus'' **** Mongolian wild ass or khulan, ''Equus hemionus hemionus'' **** Indian wild ass or khur, ''Equus hemionus khur'' **** Turkmenian kulan, ''Equus hemionus kulan''<ref name="Factsheet Kulan at Large Herbivore Network">{{cite web|url=http://www.lhnet.org/kulan/ |title=Factsheet: Kulan | Common names: Turkmen Kulan, Turkmenian Wild Ass (Horses and Asses (Perissodactyla Equidae) > Equus hemionus > Equus hemionus kulan) |access-date=2011-12-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120208132337/http://www.lhnet.org/kulan/ |archive-date=2012-02-08 }}</ref> **** Persian onager or gur, ''Equus hemionus onager'' **** Syrian wild ass or achdari, †''Equus hemionus hemippus'' (extinct 1927) *** Kiang or Tibetan wild ass, ''Equus kiang'' **** Western kiang, ''Equus kiang kiang'' **** Eastern kiang, ''Equus kiang holdereri'' **** Southern kiang, ''Equus kiang polyodon'' **** Northern kiang, ''Equus kiang chu'' ***Hydruntine or European wild ass, †''Equus hydruntinus'' (extinct 1st millennium BC) Cladogram based on whole nuclear genomes after Özkan et al. 2024.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Özkan |first1=Mustafa |last2=Gürün |first2=Kanat |last3=Yüncü |first3=Eren |last4=Vural |first4=Kıvılcım Başak |last5=Atağ |first5=Gözde |last6=Akbaba |first6=Ali |last7=Fidan |first7=Fatma Rabia |last8=Sağlıcan |first8=Ekin |last9=Altınışık |first9=Ezgi N. |last10=Koptekin |first10=Dilek |last11=Pawłowska |first11=Kamilla |last12=Hodder |first12=Ian |last13=Adcock |first13=Sarah E. |last14=Arbuckle |first14=Benjamin S. |last15=Steadman |first15=Sharon R. |date=July 2024 |title=The first complete genome of the extinct European wild ass ( Equus hemionus hydruntinus ) |journal=Molecular Ecology |language=en |volume=33 |issue=14 |article-number=e17440 |doi=10.1111/mec.17440 |pmid=38946459 |bibcode=2024MolEc..33E7440O |issn=0962-1083 |doi-access=free|hdl=11511/110286 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>{{clade|{{clade |1=''Equus africanus'' + ''Equus asinus'' (African wild ass + domestic donkeys) 60px |2={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Equus hydruntinus'' (European wild ass/hydruntine) 80px |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Equus hemionus hemippus'' (Syrian wild ass) 80px |2=''Equus hemionus onager'' (Persian onager) }} |2={{clade |1=''Equus hemionus hemionus'' (Mongolian wild ass) + ''Equus (hemionus) kiang'' (kiang) 80px }}}}}}}}|label1='''''Asinus''''' (asses)}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Ass |short=x}}
{{Equus|state=collapsed}}{{Perissodactyla}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q2305786}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Asinus Category:Equus (genus) Category:Animal subgenera