An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes
In Australia, the genetic integrity of dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) is threatened through hybridisation with feral dogs and consequently the identification of the modern ‘pure’ dingo is ambiguous. There are no accurate classification techniques for dingoes and dingo–dog hybrids in the wild. Genetics,...
Published in: | Australian Journal of Zoology |
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2012
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO12006 |
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ftbioone:10.1071/ZO12006 2024-06-02T08:05:01+00:00 An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes Cameron G. Radford Mike Letnic Melanie Fillios Mathew S. Crowther Cameron G. Radford Mike Letnic Melanie Fillios Mathew S. Crowther world 2012-08-27 text/HTML https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO12006 en eng CSIRO Publishing doi:10.1071/ZO12006 All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO12006 Text 2012 ftbioone https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO12006 2024-05-07T00:50:12Z In Australia, the genetic integrity of dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) is threatened through hybridisation with feral dogs and consequently the identification of the modern ‘pure’ dingo is ambiguous. There are no accurate classification techniques for dingoes and dingo–dog hybrids in the wild. Genetics, skull morphology and visual assessment are methods currently used, but they often yield contrasting results. We tested skull morphological and visual assessment methods for classifying wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales and examined temporal and geographic trends in skull morphology. Published equations based on discriminant functions revealed varying percentages of dingoes, dogs and their hybrids over time, and did not yield similar results to visual assessment methods. Skull characteristics generally became larger over time but have recently stabilised. Changes in the morphology of the molars were consistent with the occurrence of hybridisation with dogs. Geographic variation was apparent and consistent with Bergmann’s Law, with skulls increasing in size with altitude. This study highlights the importance for improved classification methods of wild canids and the importance of considering geographical variation in morphological studies. Text Canis lupus BioOne Online Journals Australian Journal of Zoology 60 2 73 |
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English |
description |
In Australia, the genetic integrity of dingoes (Canis lupus dingo) is threatened through hybridisation with feral dogs and consequently the identification of the modern ‘pure’ dingo is ambiguous. There are no accurate classification techniques for dingoes and dingo–dog hybrids in the wild. Genetics, skull morphology and visual assessment are methods currently used, but they often yield contrasting results. We tested skull morphological and visual assessment methods for classifying wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales and examined temporal and geographic trends in skull morphology. Published equations based on discriminant functions revealed varying percentages of dingoes, dogs and their hybrids over time, and did not yield similar results to visual assessment methods. Skull characteristics generally became larger over time but have recently stabilised. Changes in the morphology of the molars were consistent with the occurrence of hybridisation with dogs. Geographic variation was apparent and consistent with Bergmann’s Law, with skulls increasing in size with altitude. This study highlights the importance for improved classification methods of wild canids and the importance of considering geographical variation in morphological studies. |
author2 |
Cameron G. Radford Mike Letnic Melanie Fillios Mathew S. Crowther |
format |
Text |
author |
Cameron G. Radford Mike Letnic Melanie Fillios Mathew S. Crowther |
spellingShingle |
Cameron G. Radford Mike Letnic Melanie Fillios Mathew S. Crowther An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes |
author_facet |
Cameron G. Radford Mike Letnic Melanie Fillios Mathew S. Crowther |
author_sort |
Cameron G. Radford |
title |
An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes |
title_short |
An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes |
title_full |
An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes |
title_fullStr |
An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes |
title_full_unstemmed |
An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes |
title_sort |
assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern new south wales: phenotypic variation in dingoes |
publisher |
CSIRO Publishing |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO12006 |
op_coverage |
world |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_source |
https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO12006 |
op_relation |
doi:10.1071/ZO12006 |
op_rights |
All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1071/ZO12006 |
container_title |
Australian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
60 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
73 |
_version_ |
1800749763024388096 |