The short-eared dog (''Atelocynus microtis''), also known as the short-eared zorro or small-eared dog,de la Rosa, Carlos L.; and Nocke, Claudia. A Guide to the Carnivores of Central America: Natural History, Ecology, and Conservation. Austin: University of Texas Press; 2000. Accessed on November 4, 2015 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=x5ihAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT292&lpg=PT292&dq=bush+dog+central+america&source=bl&ots=yUIbt476FL&sig=c50Gn5E--FqYOvjfOEMqUzCIDnM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEQQ6AEwCWoVChMI3Mmbn5z3yAIVgRk-Ch330A__#v=onepage&q=bush%20dog%20central%20america&f=false is a unique and elusive

canid Canidae (; from Latin, '' canis'', " dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found withi ...

species

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Amazonian basin. This is the only species assigned to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

''Atelocynus''.

Other names

The short-eared dog has many names in the local languages where it is endemic, including ' in

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

, ' ("short-ear fox") in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, ' in

Chiquitano The Chiquitano or Chiquitos are an indigenous people of Bolivia, with a small number also living in Brazil. The Chiquitano primarily live in the Chiquitania tropical savanna of Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, with a small number also living in ...

, ' in

Yucuna Yucuna (Jukuna), also known as Matapi, Yucuna-Matapi, and Yukunais, is an Arawakan language spoken in several communities along the Mirití-Paraná River in Colombia. Extinct Guarú (Garú) was either a dialect or a closely related language. ...

, ' in Guarayu, ' in

Mooré The Mossi language (Mooré) is a Gur language of the Oti–Volta branch and one of two official regional languages of Burkina Faso. It is the language of the Mossi people, spoken by approximately 8 million people in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cote d ...

, and ''achuj'' in Ninam and Mosetén. Other common names in Spanish include ' ("blue-eyed fox"), ' ("savannah fox"), and ' ("black fox").

Evolution and systematics

After the formation of the Isthmus of Panama in the latter part the

Tertiary Tertiary ( ) is a widely used but obsolete term for the geologic period from 66 million to 2.6 million years ago. The period began with the demise of the non-avian dinosaurs in the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, at the start ...

(about 2.5 million years ago in the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Great American Interchange. The short-eared dog's ancestors adapted to life in tropical rainforests, developing the requisite morphological and anatomical features. Apart from its superficial resemblance to the

bush dog The bush dog (''Speothos venaticus'') is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first identified by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossi ...

, the short-eared dog seems not to be closely related to any fox-like or wolf-like

. It is one of the most unusual canids. Two subspecies of this canid are recognized, ''A. m. microtis'' and ''A. m. sclateri''

Occurrence and environment

Atelocynus microtis en amazonie péruvienne

The short-eared dog can be found in the Amazon rainforest region of South America (in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, Bolivia,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, Colombia,

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

and possibly

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

). There is a single report of "three slender, doglike animals" of this species sighted in the Darien region of

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

in 1984 by German biologist Sigi Weisel and a native Embera-nation Panamanian; this rare species' presence in Panama is possible because of "the continuous mass of forest habitat that covers this region". It lives in various parts of the rainforest environment, preferring areas with little human disturbance. It lives in both lowland

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

known as ''Floresta Amazônica'' and terra firme forest, as well as in

swamp forest Freshwater swamp forests, or flooded forests, are forests which are inundated with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. They normally occur along the lower reaches of rivers and around freshwater lakes. Freshwater swamp forests are found ...

, stands of bamboo, and cloud forest. It is a solitary animal and prefers moving in trees away from human and other animal interactions.

Appearance

Atelocynus mecrotis (Small eared fox) fur skin

The short-eared dog has short and slender

limb Limb may refer to: Science and technology *Limb (anatomy), an appendage of a human or animal *Limb, a large or main branch of a tree *Limb, in astronomy, the curved edge of the apparent disk of a celestial body, e.g. lunar limb *Limb, in botany, ...

s with short and rounded ears. It has a distinctive fox-like muzzle and bushy tail. Its

paw A paw is the soft foot-like part of a mammal, generally a quadruped, that has claws. Common characteristics The paw is characterised by thin, pigmented, keratinised, hairless epidermis covering subcutaneous collagenous and adipose tissue, ...

s are partly

webbed ''Webbed'' is a 2D adventure puzzle platform game developed and published by Australian, Brisbane-based studio Sbug Games. A physics-based game set in a fantasy version of Queensland, players control a peacock spider whose goal is to rescue ...

, helping adapt it to its partly aquatic habitat. Its fur ranges from dark to reddish-grey, but can also be nearly navy blue, coffee brown, dark grey, or chestnut-grey to black, and the coat is short, with thick and bristly fur. It has a somewhat narrow chest, with dark color variation on the thorax merging to brighter, more reddish tones on the abdominal side of the body.

Diet

This wild dog is mainly a

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other s ...

, with fish, insects, and small mammals making up the majority of its diet. An investigation led in the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

into the proportions of different kinds of food in this animal's diet produced the following results: fish (28%), insects (17%), small mammals (13%), various fruits (10%), birds (10%), crabs (10%),

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

s (4%), and reptiles (3%).

Reproduction and behavior

This species has some unique behaviors not typical to other canids.

Female Female ( symbol: ♀) is the sex of an organism that produces the large non-motile ova (egg cells), the type of gamete (sex cell) that fuses with the male gamete during sexual reproduction. A female has larger gametes than a male. Females ...

s of this species are about one-third larger than

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

s. The excited male sprays a

musk Musk ( Persian: مشک, ''Mushk'') is a class of aromatic substances commonly used as base notes in perfumery. They include glandular secretions from animals such as the musk deer, numerous plants emitting similar fragrances, and artificial sub ...

produced by the tail glands. It prefers a solitary lifestyle, in forest areas. It avoids humans in its

natural environment The natural environment or natural world encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally, meaning in this case not artificial. The term is most often applied to the Earth or some parts of Earth. This environment encompasses ...

. Agitated males raise the hairs on their backs.ebcc
The lifespan and gestation period of the short-eared dog are unknown, although

sexual maturity Sexual maturity is the capability of an organism to reproduce. In humans it might be considered synonymous with adulthood, but here puberty is the name for the process of biological sexual maturation, while adulthood is based on cultural definit ...

is reached at three years of age, relatively late compared to other canid species.

Threats, survival, and ecological concerns

Feral dog A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of ...

s pose a prominent threat to the population of short-eared dogs, as they facilitate the spread of diseases such as

canine distemper Canine distemper virus (CDV) (sometimes termed footpad disease) is a viral disease that affects a wide variety of mammal families, including domestic and wild species of dogs, coyotes, foxes, pandas, wolves, ferrets, skunks, raccoons, and felin ...

and

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, ...

to the wild population. The short eared dog suffers greatly from loss of habitat. There is a significant amount of disturbance in formerly remote South American forests, and almost no habitat except where human settlers and prospectors pass daily destroy or expose their dens. Humans also contribute to their extermination by degradation of the species' natural habitat and the general destruction of

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...

Status of conservation

The short-eared dog is currently considered

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify f ...

by the IUCN. No comprehensive ecological and genetic research has been carried out on the species.

References

External links

IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group: Small Eared ZorroStudies with a tame short-eared dog by Maria Renata Leite
* ttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/photogalleries/jaguar-short-eared-dog-pictures/photo3.html PHOTOS: Short-Eared Dog Caught in Camera Trap*
Short haired Dog Video 25 May 2014 National Geographic
{{Taxonbar, from=Q331850 Cerdocyonina Carnivorans of South America Fauna of the Amazon Mammals of Brazil Mammals of Bolivia Mammals of Colombia Mammals of Ecuador Mammals of Peru Near threatened biota of South America Mammals described in 1883 Taxa named by Philip Sclater