New African Wolf Species Identified

Conservationists in Egypt have discovered a new species of wolf, which shares DNA with Indian and Himalayan cousins.

The “Egyptian jackal”, as it’s known, is not in fact a jackal at all, despite the visual similarities it bears to another local species, the golden jackal. The discovery sheds light on how wolf species migrated through Africa and Europe — proving that grey wolves emerged in Africa about 3 million years before they spread to the northern hemisphere.

As long ago as 1880 it had been noticed that the Egyptian jackal looked suspiciously like the grey wolf. Several biologists in the 20th century, studying skulls, made the same claim. Still, the creature retained its name. Now, the difference has been formalized.

The next step for the team is to work out how many of the wolves exist in the wild. While Golden jackals aren’t threatened, it’s possible that the “Egyptian jackal” — which is now due for a renaming — is much rarer. Discovering the extent of the population, and where they live, will now be a priority.

Read more in the original article here.