Glossary

Q

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quagga – (Equus quagga) Recently extinct (1880s), the quagga was closely related to horses and zebras. It was a yellowish-brown zebra with stripes only on its head, neck and forebody. The quagga was native to desert areas of the African continent until it was exterminated in the wild in the 1870s.

quinine – A bitter medicinal extract (a crystalline alkaloid) from the bark of the cinchona tree that is found in the Andes of Ecuador and Peru. Quinine is used as an antimalarial, antipyretic and anitperiodic.

quokka – (Setonix brachyurus) A cat-sized marsupial that looks like a wallaby or kangaroo, quokkas (the Aboriginal name) are found only in southwest Australia, mainly on Rottnest Island. Quokkas sleep in small groups during the day in the shelter of dense vegetation, and at night they converge on waterholes in large social groups. They eat grasses and succulent plants.