NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Kiang
Equus kiang Moorcroft, 1841
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Wild Kiang in Leh, India
Dr.GunjanPandey · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The kiang (Equus kiang) is the largest species of the Asinus subgenus. It is native to the Tibetan Plateau in Ladakh India, northern Pakistan, China and northern Nepal. It inhabits montane grasslands and shrublands. Other common names for this species include Tibetan wild ass, khyang and gorkhar.
Wikipedia contributors, Kiang; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:24:25.451207+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Equus kiang Moorcroft, 1841
- Name authority
- Moorcroft, 1841
- Common name
- Kiang
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Perissodactyla
- Family
- Equidae
- Genus
- Equus
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderPerissodactyla Owen, 1848
- familyEquidae Gray, 1821
- genusEquus Linnaeus, 1758
- speciesEquus kiang Moorcroft, 1841
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Equus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cape mountain zebraEquus zebra Linnaeus, 1758 | EquidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Przewalski's HorseEquus przewalskii Poliakov, 1881 | EquidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Plains ZebraEquus quagga Boddaert, 1785 | EquidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Domestic HorseEquus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 | EquidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Grevy's ZebraEquus grevyi Oustalet, 1882 | EquidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=624994 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:7TKMZ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.