Golden Wolf

WOW - Did you know we have wolves in East Africa?
Here is some amazing footage taken by our very own, Philip J. Briggs, showcasing the amazing African golden wolf, a new species just confirmed and the first canid to be identified in Africa in 150 years!
Read more about it here:
news.mongabay.c...

[@indyreno2933]

The Common Golden Wolf (Flavocyon lupaster) is a large dog species native to Northern Africa, there are six recognized subspecies of common golden wolf: the Serengeti Golden Wolf (Flavocyon lupaster bea), the Somali Golden Wolf (Flavocyon lupaster riparius), the Nubian Golden Wolf (Flavocyon lupaster soudanicus), the Senegal Golden Wolf (Flavocyon lupaster anthus), the Egyptian Golden Wolf (Flavocyon lupaster lupaster), and the Algerian Golden Wolf (Flavocyon lupaster algirensis), it is one of the only two extant species of the genus Flavocyon, the other being the Ethiopian Golden Wolf (Flavocyon simensis), the golden wolves (genus Flavocyon) are the third most basal extant genus of the subtribe Canina (Old World Wolf-Like Canines), they are only more derived than the other two african genera Lupulella (African Jackals) and Lycaon (Painted Dogs), but basal to all the other reps of the Canina subtribe.

[@tonybarde2572]

What if you bred one with a Border Collie?

[@class-CLOWN]

yes I did

[@spetsziva]

Is this a young wolf? Is he alerting the others to your presence?

[@deepchange2973]

This is not a wolf it's a jackal

[@caniform-craze2080]

Genetically speaking, they are wolves. Golden wolves have Ethiopian and gray wolf DNA in them.

[@Keznen]

@caniformcraze Then Coyotes are wolves too, right? Because coyotes are more closely related to Grey Wolves than either African Golden Wolves or Ethiopian Wolves are.

[@caniform-craze2080]

@@Keznen do you consider domestic dogs as wolves? Probably not, considering dogs are closer to wolves than coyotes are. African golden wolves are an odd case since share an ancestral association with Himalayan wolves, one of the earliest wolf species to split from dogs and all other gray wolves. Golden wolves are held at a more basal position than coyotes due to genetic association with Ethiopian wolves. While coyotes are genetically close to wolves and dogs, it doesn't mean all 3 are the exact same thing.

[@indyreno2933]

@Caniform-Craze and @Keznen, you are both incorrect, the coyote is a jackal not a wolf and the coyote is more closely related to the golden jackal than to the grey wolf, this classification regards the Canis genus completely polyphyletic, the golden jackal, coyote, ethiopian golden wolf, and common golden wolf do not belong to the Canis genus anymore, the golden jackal and coyote both belong to the genus Prolupus, while the ethiopian golden wolf and common golden wolf both now belong to the genus Flavocyon, the only eight extant species of the Canis genus are the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus (cladistically including the Domestic Dog (Canis lupus familiaris))), the White Wolf (Canis albus), the Sea Wolf (Canis crassodon), the Eastern Wolf (Canis lycaon), the Red Wolf (Canis rufus), the Pale-Footed Wolf (Canis pallipes), the New Guinea Singing Dog (Canis hallstromi), and the Dingo (Canis dingo), while the genus Prolupus (Laurasian/Holarctic Jackals) is officially a sister taxon to Canis, the genus Flavocyon (Golden Wolves) is actually not closely related to the Canis genus at all, it is instead a primitive offshoot of the Canina subtribe that is only more derived than the other two African genera Lupulella (African Jackals) and Lycaon (Painted Dogs) but is basal to the Cuon + (Prolupus + Canis) clade, meaning that the Golden Jackal (Prolupus aureus), Coyote (Prolupus latrans), Grey Wolf (Canis lupus (cladistically including the Domestic Dog (Canis lupus familiaris))), White Wolf (Canis albus), Sea Wolf (Canis crassodon), Eastern Wolf (Canis lycaon), Red Wolf (Canis rufus), Pale-Footed Wolf (Canis pallipes), New Guinea Singing Dog (Canis hallstromi), and Dingo (Canis dingo) are all more closely related to the Dhole (Cuon alpinus) than to any of the African members of the Canina subtribe.

[@anubistemple4631]

I do not believe the African Golden and Egyptian Jackal are wolves, I just don't! When the simeon jackal, as it was once named, was reclassified as a wolf, it was due to this DNA study, but doing some research I also found out it was to raise interest in the conservation of the canine by renaming it as a "wolf". Now the exact same thing has happened to the African Golden and Egyptian Jackal, especially the Egyptian Jackal, as the Egyptian Jackal is threatened and has no protection, so by reclassifying it as a "wolf" it will raise more interest in the Egyptian Jackal! Am I the only one noticing this connection and pattern? Something just doesn't seem right. I even found a website that said once the DNA testing was complete, it was revealed the Egyptian Jackal was indeed closer related to jackals than wolves.

[@victorstorms5627]

whatever...

[@guillaumerusengo9371]

Extensive studies have been done. It is a wolf, zero relation to jackals.

[@Keznen]

@Guillaume Rusengo TBH the real issue is why the Coyote isn't called a wolf despite it being more closely related to the Grey Wolf than either the African Golden Wolf or the Ethiopian Wolf.

[@caniform-craze2080]

@@Keznen you don't call a jaguar, an america leopard do you?

[@indyreno2933]

@Keznen, actually, the coyote is more closely related to the golden jackal while the common golden wolf and ethiopian golden wolf are most closely related to each other, none of these species are closely related to the grey wolf, thus regarding the genus Canis to be polyphyletic, golden wolves are a monophyletic group being a separate genus named Flavocyon, this genus is only more derived than the genera Lupulella (African Jackals) and Lycaon (Painted Dogs) but is basal to the rest of the subtribe Canina, the golden jackal and coyote are both collectively known as laurasian jackals and are most closely related to each other, thus relocating both species to another single separate genus being Prolupus, to which the Golden Jackal (Prolupus aureus) is the type species, Prolupus is more officially a sister genus to Canis, which now includes only five living species being the White Wolf (Canis albus), Red Wolf (Canis rufus), Grey Wolf (Canis lupus), New Guinea Singing Dog (Canis hallstromi), and Dingo (Canis dingo).