Onager known as the Persian onager. Until this day, the species share the same name, "onager". The onager is a member of the subgenus "Asinus", belonging to the genus "Equus" and is classified under the family Equidae. The species was described and given its binomial name "Equus hemionus" by German zoologist Peter Simon Pallas in 1775. The Asiatic wild ass, among Old World equids, existed for more than 4 million years. The oldest divergence of "Equus" was the onager followed by the zebras and onwards. A new species called the kiang ("E. kiang"), a Tibetan relative, was previously considered to be
Onager ancestor of all modern equids (members of the genus "Equus") lived around 5.6 (3.9–7.8) million years ago (Mya). Direct paleogenomic sequencing of a 700,000-year-old middle Pleistocene horse metapodial bone from Canada implies a more recent 4.07 Mya for the most recent common ancestor within the range of 4.0 to 4.5 Mya. The oldest divergencies are the Asian hemiones (subgenus "E. (Asinus)", including the kulan, onager, and kiang), followed by the African zebras (subgenera "E. (Dolichohippus)", and "E. (Hippotigris)"). All other modern forms including the domesticated horse (and many fossil Pliocene and Pleistocene forms) belong to the subgenus "E. (Equus)" which