Hinny

Domestic horse–donkey hybrid

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Hinny" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (August 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Hinny

Conservation status

Domesticated

Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Mammalia
Order:  | Perissodactyla
Family:  | Equidae
Subtribe:  | Equina
Genus:  | Equus
Species:  |

E. caballus♂ × E. asinus♀

A hinny is a domestic equine hybrid, the offspring of a male horse (a stallion) and a female donkey (a jenny). It is the reciprocal cross to the more common mule, which is the product of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The hinny is distinct from the mule both in physiology and temperament as a consequence of genomic imprinting and is also less common.

## Description

[edit]

The hinny is the offspring of a stallion and a jenny or female donkey, and is thus the reciprocal cross to the more common mule foaled by a jack (male donkey) out of a mare. Like the mule, the hinny displays hybrid vigour (heterosis).[1]: 36

In general terms, in both these hybrids the foreparts and head of the animal are similar to those of the sire, while the hindparts and tail are more similar to those of the dam.[1]: 36 A hinny is generally smaller than a mule, with shorter ears and a lighter head; the tail is tasselled like that of its donkey mother.[1]: 37

The distinct phenotypes of the hinny and the mule are partly attributable to genomic imprinting – an element of epigenetic inheritance.[2] Hinnies and mules differ in temperament despite sharing nuclear genomes; this too is believed to be attributable to the action of imprinted genes.[3]

## Fertility, sterility and rarity

[edit]

According to most reports, hinnies are sterile and are not capable of reproduction.[1]: 37 The male hinny can mate, but has testicles that will only produce malformed spermatozoa.[4] The dam of a foal carried to term in Henan Province of China in 1981 is variously reported to have been a mule[5] or a hinny.[6]

## References

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hinnies.

Look up hinny in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

1. ^ a b c d Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
2. ^ Hunter, Philip (2007). "The silence of genes. Is genomic imprinting the software of evolution or just a battleground for gender conflict?". EMBO Reports. 8 (5): 441–443. doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400965. PMC 1866201. PMID 17471258.
3. ^ Wang, Xu; Miller, Donald C.; Harman, Rebecca; Antczak, Douglas F.; Clark, Andrew G. (2013). "Paternally expressed genes predominate in the placenta". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (26): 10705–10710. Bibcode:2013PNAS..11010705W. doi:10.1073/pnas.1308998110. PMC 3696791. PMID 23754418.
4. ^ Zong, E; Fan, G (June 1989). "The variety of sterility and gradual progression to fertility in hybrids of the horse and donkey". Heredity. 62 (3): 393–406. doi:10.1038/hdy.1989.54. PMID 2753743. S2CID 25057091.
5. ^ Rong, Ruizhang; Cai, Huedi; Yang, Xiuqin; Wei, Jun (October 1985). "Fertile mule in China and her unusual foal". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 78 (10): 821–25. doi:10.1177/014107688507801006. PMC 1289946. PMID 4045884.
6. ^ Angus O. McKinnon, Edward L. Squires, Wendy E. Vaala, Dickson D. Varner (editors) (2011). Equine Reproduction, second edition. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781444397635.

* v
* t
* e

Species of the genus Equus

Extinct species are marked †

Asses|

| African wild ass
(Equus africanus)|

* Nubian wild ass (Equus africanus africanus)
* Donkey (Equus africanus asinus)
* †Atlas wild ass (Equus africanus atlanticus)
* Somali wild ass (Equus africanus somaliensis)

|

Onager / Asiatic wild ass
(Equus hemionus)|

* Mongolian wild ass (Equus hemionus hemionus)
* †Syrian wild ass (Equus hemionus hemippus)
* Indian wild ass (Equus hemionus khur)
* Turkmenian kulan (Equus hemionus kulan)
* Persian onager (Equus hemionus onager)
* †European wild ass (Equus hemionus hydruntinus)

Kiang/Tibetan wild ass
(Equus kiang)|

* Western kiang (Equus kiang kiang)
* Northern kiang (Equus kiang chu)
* Eastern kiang (Equus kiang holdereri)
* Southern kiang (Equus kiang polyodon)

Horses|

| Wild horse (Equus ferus)|

* Horse (Equus ferus caballus)
* †Tarpan (Equus ferus ferus)
* Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii)

|

Zebras|

| Plains zebra (Equus quagga)|

* †Quagga (Equus quagga quagga)
* Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii)
* Grant's zebra (Equus quagga boehmi)
* Maneless zebra (Equus quagga borensis)
* Chapman's zebra (Equus quagga chapmani)
* Crawshay's zebra (Equus quagga crawshayi)
* Selous' zebra (Equus quagga selousi)

|

Mountain zebra (Equus zebra)|

* Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra)
* Hartmann's mountain zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae)

Grévy's zebra (Equus grevy)|

* Grévy's zebra (Equus grevy)

Hybrids|

* Hinny
* Kunga
* Mule
* Zebroid

Prehistoric
Equus species|

* †Equus alaskae
* †Equus andium
* †Giant Cape zebra (Equus capensis)
* †Equus cedralensis
* †Equus complicatus
* †Equus conversidens
* †Equus crinidens
* †Equus cumminsii
* †Equus dalianensis
* †Equus excelsus
* †Equus fraternus
* †Equus gallicus
* †Equus giganteus
* †Equus lambei
* †Equus latipes
* †Equus lenensis
* †Equus mauritanicus
* †Equus mexicanus
* †Equus namadicus
* †Equus niobrarensis
* †Equus occidentalis
* †Equus pacificus
* †Equus parastylidens
* †Equus pectinatus
* †Hagerman horse (Equus simplicidens)
* †Equus semiplicatus
* †Equus scotti
* †Equus sivalensis
* †Equus stenonis
* †Equus uralensis
* †Equus yunnanensis

* Equidae
* Evolution of the horse
* Wild horse
* Domestication of the horse

* v
* t
* e

Mammal hybrids

* Kingdom Animalia
* Phylum Chordata
* Class Mammalia

Bovidae|

* Bovid hybrid
* American Breed
* Beefalo
* Dwarf Lulu
* Dzo
* Sheep–goat hybrid
* Yakalo
* Żubroń

Camelidae|

* Cama
* Bukht
* Huarizo

Canidae|

* Canid hybrid
* Coydog
* Coywolf
* Dingo–dog hybrid
* Dogxim
* Eastern coyote
* Jackal–dog hybrid
* Sulimov dog
* Wolfdog

Cetacea|

* Clymene dolphin
* Wholphin
* Narluga

Elephantidae|

* Elephant hybrid

Equus|

* Equid hybrid
* Hinny
* Kunga
* Lord Morton's mare
* Mule
* Zebroid

Felidae|

* Felid hybrid
* Bengal cat
* Blynx
* Caraval
* Chausie
* Kellas cat
* Pumapard
* Savannah cat
* Serengeti cat
* Panthera hybrid
* Liger
* Liliger
* Marozi
* Congolese spotted lion
* Tigon

Hominidae|

* Denisova 11
* Humanzee
* Hybrid orangutan
* Koolakamba

Macropodinae|

* Macropod hybrids

Sus|

* Iron Age pig

Mustela|

* Polecat–ferret hybrid
* Polecat–mink hybrid

Ursus|

* Ursid hybrid
* ABC Islands bear
* Grizzly–black bear hybrid
* Grizzly–polar bear hybrid

Authority control databases: National |

* United States
* Israel

|

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template