The Ratonero Murciano is a
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of
dog
The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...
from the Spanish
Region of Murcia.
[ The Ratonero Murciano was traditionally kept in Murcia as a mouse and rat hunter, it is claimed they descend from dogs introduced to the region by the Romans who imported them from ]Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. In 1997 a breeding program was established to save the breed, by 2009 the program was up to its third generation, with 80 breeding specimens and a DNA testing program.
The Ratonero Murciano is described as a compact, short haired, active dog, well suited to its role as a rat hunter.
See also
* Dogs portal
* List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties, landraces, and dog types. A research article on genomics, dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines m ...
References
External links
Ratonero murciano video
Dog breeds originating in the Region of Murcia
Terriers
Rare dog breeds
{{dog-stub