The iconic Australian Dingo has been promoted to its own species. It was specifically the shape of the skull and the lack of dew claws, amongst other things, which lead to the reclassification. So the Dingo shares a common ancestor with, but is not descended from, wolves or domestic dogs. Domestic dogs are generally believed to have been descended from wolves - hence the taxonomic name Canis Lupus Familiaris. Lupus meaning wolf. Adding familiaris to the end of the taxonomic name for the wolf indicates a subspecies, hence domestic dogs (familiaris) are a subspecies of wolf. The dingo was previously called Canis Lupus Dingo, ie: also a subspecies of wolf. The Dingo is now recognised as a separate species all its own, and hence the lupus is dropped and the dingo is elevated to species placement in the taxonomic name ie: Canis Dingo Good article here news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/03/dingo-special-enough-save
Posted on: Wed, 16 Apr 2014 04:14:39 +0000
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