Abstract As a contribution to the still open debate on the multiple african origins of the domesticated donkey, this work focuses on the wild ass of the Maghreb. It follows the recent paleontological review of the equids from Lac Karâr, a middle Pleistocene site in Northern Algeria, where most of the faunal remains were attributed to wild asses (Equus africanus Heuglin and Fitzinger, 1866). The morphometric resemblance between the equid of Lac Karâr, and Equus melkiensis Bagtach, Hadjouis and Eisenmann, 1984 which might correspond to the equid commonly referred to, as the Atlas wild ass (vernacular name) and, by descent, to Equus tabeti Arambourg, 1970, the only subspecies of ass from the early Pleistocene in Northern Africa, highlights the need for extensive biomolecular and radiometric studies on this wild and robust ass, endemic to the Maghreb. This is especially important given that progress in extracting ancient DNA from equids has been demonstrated by several recent studies and that remains of wild asses are still being uncovered in many late Pleistocene to Holocene (Neolithic) deposits in the Maghreb. The results from such studies could substantially improve the knowledge on the origin of asses. In particular, these analyses could shed light on the, as yet, undetermined clade 2 which may originate from the wild ass of the Maghreb as recently hypothesized by several authors. The archaeological and genetic data reviewed in this paper focuses on the ancient range of the Atlas wild ass mainly from sites in the northern part of the Maghreb; it contributes to current debates regarding this subspecies as one of the possible ancestors of modern asses. In addition, the paper identifies directions for further genetic researches on the extant donkey of the Maghreb.

中文翻译：

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从古生物学和 DNA 看现代驴的非洲起源：阿特拉斯野驴怎么样？

摘要 作为对驯养驴的多种非洲起源的公开辩论的贡献，这项工作的重点是马格里布的野驴。它遵循最近对来自阿尔及利亚北部中更新世遗址 Lac Karâr 的马科动物进行的古生物学审查，那里的大部分动物遗骸归因于野驴（非洲马科动物 Heuglin 和 Fitzinger，1866 年）。Lac Karâr 的马科动物与 Equus melkiensis Bagtach、Hadjouis 和 Eisenmann，1984 年的形态测量相似性，这可能对应于通常称为 Atlas 野驴（白话名称）的马科动物，以及 1970 年的 Equus tabeti Arambourg是北非早期更新世唯一的驴亚种，突出了对这种野生且健壮的马格里布特有的驴进行广泛的生物分子和辐射测量研究的必要性。鉴于最近的几项研究已经证明了从马科动物中提取古代 DNA 的进展，并且在马格里布的许多晚更新世至全新世（新石器时代）沉积物中仍在发现野生驴的遗骸，这一点尤为重要。这些研究的结果可以大大提高对驴起源的认识。特别是，这些分析可以揭示尚未确定的进化枝 2，它可能起源于几位作者最近假设的马格里布野驴。本文综述的考古和遗传数据集中在主要来自马格里布北部遗址的阿特拉斯野驴的远古范围；它促成了当前关于该亚种是否可能是现代驴的祖先之一的争论。此外，