A new study has been released which shows that Africa's golden jackals are a type of wolf.
Reports had been circulating over the past few years, so scientists from the Smithsonian decided to put the theories to the test. By studying mitochondrial DNA, the scientists were able to show that African golden jackals were a different species to the similar Eurasian golden jackal and that they were in fact descended from wolves - the split having taken place around 1.3 million years ago.
The finding means that there are now 36 species of canid in the world.
Source: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/new-wolf-species-discovered-africa
Reports had been circulating over the past few years, so scientists from the Smithsonian decided to put the theories to the test. By studying mitochondrial DNA, the scientists were able to show that African golden jackals were a different species to the similar Eurasian golden jackal and that they were in fact descended from wolves - the split having taken place around 1.3 million years ago.
The finding means that there are now 36 species of canid in the world.
Source: http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/blogs/new-wolf-species-discovered-africa
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