Species
Canis
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Canis is a genus containing seven to 10 extant species, including the domestic dog, wolves, coyotes, and jackals, and many extinct species.
Contents
Wolves, dogs and dingos[edit]
Wolves, dogs, and dingoes are subspecies of Canis lupus. The original referent of the English word wolf, the Eurasian wolf, is called C. l. lupus to distinguish it from other wolf subspecies, such as the Indian wolf (C. l. pallipes), the Arabian wolf (C. l. arabs), or the Tibetan wolf (C. l. chanco), which are probably more similar to the variety of wolf that was ancestral to the modern dog (C. l. familiaris).[citation needed]
Some experts have suggested some subspecies of C. lupus be considered Canis species distinct from C. lupus.[citation needed] These include Central Asia's Himalayan wolf, and the Indian wolf, as well as the North America's red wolf and eastern wolf.
The dingo (C. l. dingo), from Australasia, and the domestic dog (C. l. familiaris) are also considered subspecies of C. lupus, although they are not commonly referred to or thought of as "wolves".[2]
Coyotes, jackals, and wolves[edit]
C. lupus is but one of many Canis species called "wolves", most of which are now extinct and little known to the general public. One of these, however, the dire wolf, Canis dirus, has gained fame for the thousands of specimens found and displayed at the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles, California. The dire wolf is an example of the word "wolf" being applied to a canid other than C. lupus. Other examples include Canis simensis, which has undergone many popular name changes, as its intermediate morphology had caused some to think of it as a jackal or a fox, but current taxonomic and genetic consensus is reflected in its "official name",[clarification needed] the Ethiopian wolf.
Canis species too small to attract the word "wolf" are called coyotes in the Americas and jackals elsewhere. Although these may not be more closely related to each other than they are to C. lupus, they are, as fellow Canis species, all more closely related to wolves and domestic dogs than they are to foxes, maned wolves, or other canids which do not belong to the Canis genus. The word "jackal" is applied to three distinct species of this group: Africa's side-striped (C. adustus), black-backed (C. mesomelas), and golden jackal(C. aureus), which can be found across northern Africa, southwestern and south-central Asia, and the Balkans.
While North America has only one small-sized species, the coyote (C. latrans), it has become very widespread, moving into areas once occupied by wolves. They can be found across much of mainland Canada, in every state of the continental United States, all of Mexico except the Yucatán Peninsula, and the Pacific and central areas of Central America, ranging as far as western Panama.
Etymology[edit]
The name Canis means "dog" in Latin. The word "canine" comes from the adjective form, caninus ("of the dog"), from which the term canine tooth is also derived.[4] The canine family has prominent canine teeth, used for killing their prey. The word canis is cognate to the Greek word kūon (Greek: Κύων) which means "dog".
Gallery[edit]
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Gray wolf (Canis lupus) (includes dog and dingo).
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Red wolf (Canis rufus) (includes latrans admixture)
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Eastern wolf (Canis lupus lycaon) (often includes latrans admixture)
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Dire wolf (Canis dirus) (extinct)
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Timeline and relationships (Tedford & Wang)[full citation needed]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Canis Linnaeus 1758 in The Palaeobiology Database
- ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). "Genus Canis". Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Lindblad-Toh, K.; Wade, C. M.; Mikkelsen, T. S.; Karlsson, E. K.; Jaffe, D. B.; Kamal, M.; Clamp, M.; Chang, J. L.; Kulbokas, E. J.; Zody, M. C.; Mauceli, E.; Xie, X.; Breen, M.; Wayne, R. K.; Ostrander, E. A.; Ponting, C. P.; Galibert, F.; Smith, D. R.; Dejong, P. J.; Kirkness, E.; Alvarez, P.; Biagi, T.; Brockman, W.; Butler, J.; Chin, C. W.; Cook, A.; Cuff, J.; Daly, M. J.; Decaprio, D. et al. (2005). "Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog". Nature 438 (7069): 803–819. Bibcode:2005Natur.438..803L. doi:10.1038/nature04338. PMID 16341006. edit
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "canine". Online Etymology Dictionary.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Canis&oldid=655038583 |
Canis preys on:
Orthoptera
Tenebrionidae
Curculionidae
Thysanura
Isoptera
Talpinae
Aporosaura
Typhlosaurus
Macaca sylvanus
Suricata suricatta
Cervus eldii
Axis porcinus
Gazella gazella
Raphicerus melanotis
Pelea capreolus
Redunca arundinum
Redunca fulvorufula
Based on studies in:
Namibia, Namib Desert (Desert or dune)
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:550
Specimens with Sequences:527
Specimens with Barcodes:485
Species:13
Species With Barcodes:12
Public Records:445
Public Species:12
Public BINs:4