Canis lupus dingo

Dingo
Australian dingo
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	Canis
Species:	C. lupus
Subspecies:	C. l. dingo
Trinomial name
Canis lupus dingo (Meyer, 1793)
Dingo range
Synonyms
antarcticus (Kerr, 1792), Canis australasiae (Desmarest, 1820), Canis australiae (Gray, 1826), Canis dingoides (Matschie, 1915), Canis macdonnellensis (Matschie, 1915), Canis novaehollandiae (Voigt, 1831), Canis papuensis (Ramsay, 1879), Canis tenggerana (Kohlbrugge, 1896), Canis harappensis (Prashad, 1936) Canis hallstromi (Troughton, 1957)

The taxon Canis lupus dingo is named for its most famous and original member, the Australian Dingo, but it also includes non-Australian animals such as the New Guinea Singing Dog, the Thai Dog, and other animals which are considered taxonomically identical to the Australian Dingo, so any differences would be at the level of "variety," "landrace", or "breed". The name indicates that, like the familiar common dog, Canis lupus familiaris, it is a subspecies of Canis lupus, also known as the Gray Wolf, and as such is one of many subspecies of wolf. While current taxonomy lists it as "provisionally separate" from C. l. familiaris, the current taxonomy notes that it is legitimate to view the two united as into one subspecies, the "domestic dog", while admitting that this "stretches the subspecies concept".

Origin

Dingoes may have evolved in the northern areas of Thailand and Vietnam between five and six thousand years ago from south Asian wolves quite similar to the Indian Wolf and the Arabian Wolf. The early evolutionary process was one of domestication; a process which has both biological and anthropological elements. Wild wolves and human cultures evolved a commensal relationship in which each derived benefits from learning to tolerate or interact with each other, a process that transformed the physical features and instincts of those populations of wolves living around human settlements from wolf into dingoes, generally considered to be a subspecies of Canis lupus intermediate between wolf and dog.

Taxonomic synonyms

Current taxonomy identifies nine taxonomic synonyms for the term Canis lupus dingo, the majority of which referred to the Australian Dingo but several of which refer to animals found in Southern and Southeast Asia.

"harappensis", an ancient dingo found in India

During excavation seasons in 1924-25 and 1930-31, a team of researchers site in Harrapa, India collected a wide variety of ancient domestic animal remains which had been buried since three thousand years BC. The remains included a dog which the researcher who wrote the report named the Canis tenggeranas harappensis, noting "marked skull affinities to the Indian Wolf" and hypothesized to be the ancestor of the Indian Greyhound. Since that time, however, mammalogists reviewing the evidence have concluded that it is taxonomically identical to the Australian Dingo and have therefore grouped it together with the Australian Dingo into the taxon Canis lupus dingo.

"tenggerana", the dingoes of Java

In the late nineteenth century, experts working in the Tennger Mountains in Eastern Java identified a dog living there which they named "Canis familiaris tenggerana". They observed the dogs living alongside the natives in a semi-domesticated state. Since that time, Canis familiaris tenggerana has been identified and reclassified as C. l. dingo.

"papuensis"

In a report to the Linnean Society of New South Wales in 1882, N. De Miklouho-Maclay identified several anatomical and behavioural differences between Australian Dingoes and dogs that inhabited the coastal lowlands(Maclay Coast) of Papua New Guinea. He gave the Papuan coastal canines the scientific name Canis papuensis. The differences between Canis dingo and Canis papuensis included a much smaller brain, which he attributed to the quite different lifestyles of the two animals. There were several differences in overall looks and build. In fact, the dogs he dubbed Papuan Dogs or New Guinea Dogs bore little resemblance to the canines commonly known as New Guinea Singing Dogs. Whereas the Australian Dingo is well-known for its intelligence and boldness, as well as near independence from humans, he reported that the coastal Papuan canines remained on the periphery of native villages, regularly feeding on cast-offs and human waste. Hunting on their own was almost unknown. Instead of the bold independence of the Australian Dingo, the coastal dogs behaved very subserviently toward humans, exhibiting begging and grovelling. Additionally, he stated, "The Canis papuensis is very different in appearance and character from Canis dingo; is generally smaller, has not the bushy tail of the dingo...." Since New Guinea Singing Dogs or New Guinea Dingoes were not mentioned in his report, it is unknown whether Miklouho-Maclay was even aware of their existence. His report was only concerned with canines he observed along the Maclay Coast.

"hallstromi" New Guinea Singing Dogs

Main article: New Guinea Singing Dog

Other Dingoes

Dingoes without recognized taxonomic synonyms have also been identified.

Dingoes of Peninsular Southeast Asia

Pure Asian dingoes live freely in many areas of Southeast Asia.

The most common variety is the "Thai Dog", sometimes called the "Thai Dingo", which are also found in neighboring countries. They tend to be somewhat smaller than Australian Dingoes, and live and behave less like wild animals. Although many are kept as pets or working dogs, the majority roam freely and subsist by begging and scavenging from humans. Many Thai people believe that as Buddhists they gain merit by leaving food out for the free-roaming "neighborhood dogs" in the streets. Consequently, Thailand has a large population of wild dogs and also many of the attendant problems having such a population entails, such as periodic rabies epidemics.

Extensive morphological and genetic testing has supported the observations of Australian Dingo experts that Thai Dogs are taxonomically identical to the Dingoes in Australia. However there are a few noticeable differences. Black and ginger color variations, rare in Australia, are common in Thailand and Thai Dogs tend to have shorter hair. Their behavior is also substantially different; they live among and alongside people as free ranging urban dogs. As such, they are viewed as unexceptional mongrel dogs, and not, as in Australia, as wild animals distinctly different from true dogs. In some sub-cultures in the region they are commonly looked to as a source of dogmeat and eaten as a delicacy; in the wider community they are more likely to be kept as guard dogs, used as hunting dogs, or carefully bred into specific breeds such as the Thai Ridgeback.

Other noted varieties of Canis lupus dingo include:

• 'Siamese Hairless Boran Dog' is a rare, if not extinct, form of ancient primitive canine. Some experts believe a small population still lives along the Thailand/Laos border. They are not to be confused with the Thai Ridgeback, which has risen from one of the variants.

• ' Phu Quoc ridgeback dog' (Cho Phú Quốc) is a short haired primitive breed of dog with hair whorls on their backs. Phu Quoc Dogs and Thai Dogs differ from one another in several ways. Nonetheless, the Phu Quoc ridgeback dog is considered a progenitor of thr Thai Ridgeback. Pure Phu Quoc ridgeback dogs still exist on the mainland of Thailand. The Phu Quoc ridgeback dog was discovered on the island of Phu Quoc (which it is named after), an island located off the west coast of Vietnam and the Vietnamese territory. It is believed that Phu Quoc Dogs were originally transported to the islands from the mainland by Thai fishermen. The Phu Quoc ridgeback dog is considered one of the three rarest canines and is in dire need of field research and wild population conservation efforts. Systematic breeding of the captive population on the island has had a positive affect on island tourism. For more information see the main article "Phu Quoc ridgeback dog"

The "dingoes" of Bali

Experts report that Bali Street Dogs and a breed of dog developed from them, the Kinatami Dog, are genetically closer to Australian Dingos than they are to any of the many other breeds and landraces that they were compared to in the study. The physical similarity to Australian Dingoes is more clearly obvious in the case of the relatively uniform Kinatami dogs than in the wide physically diversity seen among the street dogs, which are noted for their distrust of humans, even when taken in as puppies.

"Dingoes" of Eastern Asia

Some experts have provided evidence that native breeds and landraces of dogs of Japan, such as the Akita Inu and Shiba Inu, share a close common origin with Australian Dingoes.

The American Dingo

Main article: Carolina Dog

Several experts have provided evidence that shows some native North American dogs should be classified as Canis lupus dingo. Prominent among these canines is the "Carolina Dog", also known as "Yellow Dogs" or "Yaller Dogs", and formally recognized by the American Kennel Club as the "Carolina Dog". Formerly common and widespread in the United States, American Dingoes continue to survive living independently in isolated forests and swamps of the southeastern United States. Although increasingly many show signs of admixture with non-native breeds, the physical and genetic isolation from non-native breeds and closeness to the Australian Dingo can still be observed, especially now that they have been kept pure by captive breeding.