Abstract
The Egyptian jackal (Canis aureus lupaster) has hitherto been considered a large, rare subspecies of the golden jackal (C. aureus). It has maintained its taxonomical status to date, despite studies demonstrating morphological similarities to the grey wolf (C. lupus). We have analyzed 2055 bp of mitochondrial DNA from C. a. lupaster and investigated the similarity to C. aureus and C. lupus. Through phylogenetic comparison with all wild wolf-like canids (based on 726 bp of the Cytochrome b gene) we conclusively (100% bootstrap support) place the Egyptian jackal within the grey wolf species complex, together with the Holarctic wolf, the Indian wolf and the Himalayan wolf. Like the two latter taxa, C. a. lupaster seems to represent an ancient wolf lineage which most likely colonized Africa prior to the northern hemisphere radiation. We thus refer to C. a. lupaster as the African wolf. Furthermore, we have detected C. a. lupaster individuals at two localities in the Ethiopian highlands, extending the distribution by at least 2,500 km southeast. The only grey wolf species to inhabit the African continent is a cryptic species for which the conservation status urgently needs assessment.
Highlights
The golden jackal (Canis aureus; Linneaus 1758) is currently considered a monophyletic species among the wolf-like canids [1,2]
The Egyptian jackal overlaps in size with the grey wolf (Canis lupus), being larger and more long-limbed than the Holotype Canis aureus, and its cranial features differ from other golden jackals [9]
A 365 bp fragment of the Cytochrome b gene (Cyt b) gene was comparable between our data and those of Nassef (2003), representing the only Egyptian jackal data available
Summary
The golden jackal (Canis aureus; Linneaus 1758) is currently considered a monophyletic species among the wolf-like canids [1,2]. The Egyptian jackal (Canis aureus lupaster; Hemprich and Ehrenberg 1833) is, as per conventional taxonomy, considered a subspecies of the golden jackal, the similarity of the skulls of certain North African jackals to that of the Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) had already been noted by Thomas Huxley as early as 1880 [8]. Nassef [10] investigated the relative relationship between Egyptian and Israeli jackals and found through phylogenetic analysis of a segment of the Cytochrome b gene (Cyt b) that the Egyptian jackal was more similar to grey wolves. Their data were, very scarce and the conclusion was to retain the Egyptian jackal as a C. aureus subspecies.
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