Studies Show African Golden Jackal Genetically Different From Other European

The now-dubbed African golden wolf is found in Africa in the northern and eastern portions of the continent, although some can be found in the Middle East. Eurasian golden jackals, meanwhile, are in the southern Europe to the Middle East, so there is some overlap. Koepfli and Wayne also established collaborations with colleagues from universities worldwide – including from Russian Federation, China, Portugal, South Africa, Finland and Israel – who provided them with samples from golden jackals in other parts of Africa and Eurasia.

On Thursday, scientists have said that a complete genetic analysis has found these populations to be made up of a couple of distinct species, with the ones on Africa being different from the others.

The golden jackal, or Canis aureus, may end up being named Africa Canis anthus – the African golden wolf.

The African golden wolf, as it is now called, is the first new canine discovered in 150 years.

“Our results showed that African and Eurasian golden jackals were distinct across all the genetic markers we tested, including data from whole genomes, suggesting these are independently evolving lineages”, said Klaus-Peter Koepfli, a conservation and evolutionary geneticist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington.

The discovery, which is based on DNA evidence, increases the diversity of the biological family Canidae – the group including dogs, wolves, foxes and jackals – from 35 living species to 36.

Koepfli said that what should be learned from this study is the fact that scientists can discover hidden biodiversity even in the case of animal species that are widespread and well-known. Wayne and Koepfli believe it is due to the similarity of their skulls and the morphology of their teeth. They thrive across a variety of habitats, from dry savannas in Africa to tropical forests in southeast Asia.

Regarding this study Gaubert says that it is high-quality work, but he stands by his original paper since he is not yet convinced that the African golden jackal is an entirely new species.

The researchers determined that the African golden jackal lineage split from the lineage including gray wolves and coyotes about 1.3 million years ago while the Eurasian golden jackal lineage split about 600,000 years earlier.