Senegalese wolf

Senegalese golden wolf
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: C. anthus
Subspecies: C. a. anthus
Trinomial name
Canis anthus anthus[1]
F. Cuvier, 1820
Synonyms

C. aureus senegalensis (C. E. H. Smith, 1839)

The Senegalese wolf (Canis anthus anthus), also known as the grey jackal,[2] slender jackal or Anthus, is the nominate subspecies of the African golden wolf native to Senegal.

Physical descriptions

Skull of a Senegalese golden wolf from the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle.

It is at least an inch (2.54 centimeters) higher at the shoulder, and several inches longer than the Egyptian wolf;[3] adult Senegalese golden wolves are about 15 inches (38.1 cm) high on the midsection and 14 inches (35.56 cm) in length from tail to occiput. The ears are longer, and the head is more dog-like than that of the Egyptian wolf[3] and measures 7 inches (17.78 cm) in length.[4] The tail is not as hairy, and is shorter,[3] being 10 inches (25.4 cm) long.[4]

The nose and forehead are greyish-buff, while the throat and under parts are white. It lacks the black ring round the neck, nor the stippled arrangement of black points on the back characteristic of the Egyptian wolf.[3] The flanks and back are of a deep grey colour, grizzled with yellow. The neck is greyish-fawn, with grey predominating especially on the cheeks and below the ears. The upper muzzle, limbs, the back of the ears and tail are of a pure fawn colour, while the rest of the body is whitish.[4]

References

  1. Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. (Italian)Motta, F. (editore), Nel Mondo della Natura: Enciclopedia Motta di Scienze Naturali, Zoologia, Quinto Volume, 1957
  3. 1 2 3 4 The natural history of dogs : canidae or genus canis of authors ; including also the genera hyaena and proteles (1839) by Charles Hamilton Smith and Sir William Jardine, published by Edinburgh : W.H. Lizars
  4. 1 2 3 The Animal Kingdom: Arranged in Conformity with Its Organization by Charles Hamilton Smith, Georges Cuvier (baron), Edward Pidgeon, John Edward Gray and George Robert Gray, edited by Edward Griffith, printed for G.B. Whittaker, 1827
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