The Egyptian wolf (''Canis lupaster lupaster'') or the Egyptian Jackal is a subspecies of

African golden wolf The African wolf (''Canis lupaster'') or golden wolf, formerly known as the African golden jackal, is a canine native to North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, northern East Africa, and the Horn of Africa. It is listed as least concern on the IU ...

native to

northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

and a part of

western Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurita ...

Taxonomic and evolutionary history

The Egyptian wolf had an unresolved taxonomic identity and was formerly known as the Egyptian jackal. Throughout much of the 20th century, the animal was classed as a subspecies of

golden jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...

, ''Canis aureus lupaster''. Notice was however taken by numerous zoologists of the animal's

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

, which corresponds more to that of the

grey wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...

. This was corroborated through

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

studies, which initially indicated that the animal was a subspecies of grey wolf, and should be renamed African wolf (''Canis lupus lupaster''). In 2015, both golden jackals from Africa and Eurasia were found to represent distinct monophyletic lineages separated for more than one million years, sufficient to merit formal recognition as different species: ''C. aureus'' (Eurasian golden jackal) and ''C. lupaster'' (

). It has not been formally recognised as such by

MSW3 ''Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference'' is a standard reference work in mammalogy giving descriptions and bibliographic data for the known species of mammals. It is now in its third edition, published in late 2005, ...

which, published in 2005, classifies it as a subspecies of golden jackal.

Physical descriptions

The Egyptian wolf differs from the

Senegalese wolf The Senegalese wolf (''Canis lupaster anthus''), also known as the gray jackal, Motta, F. (editore), ''Nel Mondo della Natura: Enciclopedia Motta di Scienze Naturali, Zoologia'', Quinto Volume, 1957 slender jackal or anthus, is the subspecies of ...

by its heavier build, wider head, thicker fur, longer legs, more rounded ears, and shorter tail. The fur is darker than the golden jackal's, and has a broader white patch on the chest. Field observations in Senegal's

Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary The Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (french: Parc national des oiseaux du Djoudj, ) lies on the southeast bank of the Senegal River in Senegal, in northern Biffeche, north east of St-Louis. It provides a range of wetland habitats which prove ver ...

indicate that it is a solitary animal that lives on the periphery of Senegalese wolf territories, and dominates the latter species in disputes over carcasses.

Biology and behavior

According to shepherds in

, while the Senegalese wolf preys primarily on lambs, the Egyptian wolf attacks larger prey, such as sheep, goats and cattle.

Habitat and distribution

The Egyptian wolf inhabits a number of different habitats; in Algeria it lives in

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

, coastal and hilly areas (including hedged farmlands, scrublands, pinewoods and oak forests), while populations in Senegal inhabit

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

, semi-arid climate zones including

Sahel The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...

ian savannahs. ''Lupaster'' populations in Mali have been documented in arid Sahelian

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

Relationship with humans

The animal head of the Egyptian god

Anubis Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...

may have been based on the African wolf, rather than the

as was formerly believed.The Independent - Golden Jackals Moving Into Western Europe
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Taxonomic and evolutionary history

Physical descriptions

Biology and behavior

Habitat and distribution

Relationship with humans

References

Further reading