Canis aureus (Carnivore: Canidae)

Abstract

Canis aureus (Linnaeus, 1758), the golden jackal, is a medium-sized, wide spread, terrestrial carnivore. It is 1 of 7 species found in the genus Canis. It ranges from Africa to Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. Due to its tolerance of dry habitats and its omnivorous diet, C. aureus can live in a wide variety of habitats. It normally lives in open grassland habitat but also occurs in deserts, woodlands, mangroves, and agricultural and rural habitats in India and Bangladesh. It ranges from sea level in Eritrea to 3,500 m in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia and 2,000 m in India. C. aureus is listed as "Least Concern" by the International

Cranial variability and differentiation among golden jackals (Canis aureus) in Europe, Asia Minor and Africa

“…It is clear, however, that there is no reason to consider these morphological differences as evidence for the existence of more than one subspecies on the Balkans and adjacent European countries. The subspecies Canis aureus ecsedensis (Kretzoi, 1947), or its synonym Canis aureus hungaricus Ehik, 1938 (Moehlman andHayssen 2018), could not be justified as a separate subspecies in Europe, based on the present morphometric results. Genetic studies so far revealed that jackals in Europe are genetically similar, despite high level of genetic diversity and higher genetic differentiation in some European populations (Zachos et al 2009;Fabbri et al 2014;Rutkowski et al 2015).…”

“…Moreover, there is no significant difference in the colouration pattern and other features across the various subpopulations living in this area (Pocock 1938;Heptner et al 1967;Demeter and Spassov 1993). Although the subspecies Canis aureus caucasica Kolenati, 1858 was proposed as synonym of Canis aureus aureus Linnaeus, 1758 (Moehlman and Hayssen 2018), there is no evidence that the Caucasian jackals belong to this subspecies. Morphometric similarities found in the present study and the ongoing genetic flow between the Caucasus and Europe (Rutkowski et al 2015) raises the question of the geographic border between Canis aureus moreotica and Canis aureus aureus.…”

“…The golden jackal (Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758) is one of the most widely distributed canid species and is found in many areas of Europe, Asia and Africa (Jhala and Moehlman 2004;Arnold et al 2012;Hoffmann et al 2018;Moehlman and Hayssen 2018;Spassov and Acosta-Pankov 2019). Since the 1980s jackals have increased in their distribution and abundance in what is arguably the most dramatic recent expansion in Europe among native predators on the continent, and today the species is widespread throughout southern Asia, the Middle East and south-eastern and central Europe, where jackals inhabit a wide variety of habitats, from semi-deserts and grasslands to forested, agricultural, and semi-urban habitats (Jhala and Moehlman 2004;Šálek et al 2014;Koepfli et al 2015;Trouwborst et al 2015).…”

“…However, jackal phylogeny and taxonomy are still controversial. As many as 13 subspecies of golden jackal have been distinguished historically, but taxonomic revision is needed (Moehlman and Hayssen 2018). Recent genetic analyses revealed that Canis aureus from Africa should be considered as a separate species more closely allied to the wolf, Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 (Koepfli et al 2015;Gopalakrishnan et al 2018).…”

“…However, recently published accounts on the issue (Rueness et al 2011;Gaubert et al 2012;Koepfli et al 2015;Viranta et al 2017;Gopalakrishnan et al 2018) proved the need for morphological and morphometric studies to resolve taxonomic uncertainty. According to Moehlman and Hayssen (2018), all jackals included so far in the taxon Canis aureus may represent three canid taxa: Canis aureus, Canis anthus and Canis lupus. However, based on recent genetic studies (Koepfli et al 2015;Viranta et al 2017;Gopalakrishnan et al 2018), only Canis lupaster and Canis aureus are considered as valid taxa and Canis lupaster supersedes Canis anthus as a valid taxonomic name, although not widely accepted.…”