Onager (redirected from Onagers)

onager (ŏn`əjər) or Persian wild ass, wild ass of central Asia, Equus hemonius onager. One of the several races of Asian wild ass (E. hemonius), it formerly ranged widely across S Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan. A small, slenderly built animal, it stands about 4 ft (120 cm) high at the shoulder. Its back and legs are rusty brown and its belly white. It has a black tail tuft, a short, stiff black mane, and a black spinal stripe lined with white on either side. For many centuries it was hunted for sport by the Persian nobility, and young onagers were captured for the breeding of riding animals. Owing to the swiftness and endurance of the onager, relatively few animals were captured by traditional methods. However, since the invention of modern firearms and automobiles, the animals have been extensively slaughtered for their flesh and hides. They survive in Russia only on the Badkhys reserve and are greatly reduced in numbers elsewhere. The continued existence of the race is in doubt. The onager is classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Perissodactyla, family Equidae.

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onager

a Persian variety of the wild ass, Equus hemionus

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Onager 

(Equus hemionus onager), a perissodactylous animal of the genus Equus; a subspecies of the Asiatic wild ass (E. hemionus). Sometimes the name “onager” is used as a synonym for the Asiatic wild ass.

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Onager 

a type of large catapult used in ancient Greece and Rome between the fourth century B.C. and the fifth century A.D. in besieging and defending forts. It hurled stones, barrels containing an incendiary mixture, and other projectiles weighing 30–500 kg at an angle of elevation of up to 45° over distances of 350–1,000 m.