Towards resolving taxonomic uncertainties in wolf, dog and jackal lineages of Africa, Eurasia and Australasia

Abstract

Successful conservation depends on accurate taxonomy. Currently, the taxonomy of canids in Africa, Eurasia and Australasia is unstable as recent molecular and morphological studies have questioned earlier phenetic classifications. We review available information on several taxa of Old World and Australasian Canis with phylogenetic uncertainties (namely, African jackals, Asian wolves and Australasian dogs), in order to assess the validity of suggested scientific names and provide a scientific basis for reaching a taxonomic consensus primarily based on molecular data, but also including morphology, biogeography and behavioural ecology. We identify major knowledge gaps, provide recommendations for future research and discuss conservation implications of an updated taxonomic framework. Recent molecular studies indicate that the former Afro‐Eurasian ‘golden jackal’ represents two distinct lineages, the golden jackal (Canis aureus) from Eurasia and the African wolf (C. lupaster) from Africa. Phylogenetic research also indicates that the side‐striped and black‐backed jackals form a monophyletic group that branched earlier than Canis, Cuon and Lycaon, which should be reassigned to the genus Lupulella as L. adusta and L. mesomelas, respectively. The Himalayan/Tibetan and Indian wolf lineages appear to have diverged earlier and are distinct from all other grey wolves (C. lupus) based on mitochondrial and nuclear genome data. However, until genome‐wide data from multiple individuals across the range clarify relationships with other taxa, we suggest referring to the Himalayan/Tibetan wolf lineage as Canis lupus chanco. We support the currently accepted nomenclature for the Indian wolf Canis lupus pallipes for the wolf populations found on the Indian subcontinent and possibly also in south‐western Asia (exact geographical boundary pending). The information presented here provides a current and consistent taxonomic framework for use by conservationists and other practitioners, but it is also intended to stimulate further research to resolve current uncertainties affecting the taxonomy of Old World canids.

Mismatch between IUCN range maps and species interactions data illustrated using the Serengeti food web

“…The case of the golden jackal ( Canis aureus ) is a good illustration of how the taxonomic, geographical and ecological data can be used to validate one another. The jackal is a widespread taxon in northern Africa, Europe, and Australasia, generally well adapted to local conditions due to its largely varied diet ( Tsunoda & Saito, 2020 ; Krofel et al, 2021 ). Because of that, we expected that the Canis species in our dataset would be the ones losing the least amount of range, with a higher value of the proportion of GBIF pixels within their IUCN range maps.…”

“…Because of that, we expected that the Canis species in our dataset would be the ones losing the least amount of range, with a higher value of the proportion of GBIF pixels within their IUCN range maps. However, the taxonomy of this group is a matter of intense discussion, as molecular and morphological data seem to disagree in the clustering of species and subspecies ( Krofel et al., 2021 ; Stoyanov, 2020 ). This debate probably influenced our results: with originally only 64.9% of the GBIF pixels of the golden jackal overlapping with its IUCN data, we suspect that many of the GBIF occurrences refer to other Canis species, and that its taxonomic identification in the network database is probably outdated.…”

Mismatch between IUCN range maps and species interactions data illustrated using the Serengeti food web

“…The jackal is a widespread taxon in northern Africa, Europe and Australasia, generally well adapted to local conditions due to its largely varied diet (Tsunoda and Saito 2020;Krofel et al 2021). Because of that, we expected that the Canis species in our dataset would be the ones losing the least amount of range, with a higher value of the proportion of GBIF pixels within their IUCN range maps.…”

“…Because of that, we expected that the Canis species in our dataset would be the ones losing the least amount of range, with a higher value of the proportion of GBIF pixels within their IUCN range maps. However, the taxonomy of this group is a matter of intense discussion, as molecular and morphological data seem to disagree in the clustering of species and subspecies (Krofel et al 2021;Stoyanov 2020). This debate is indeed reflected in our analysis: the GBIF identification of the golden jackal is incompatible with the one used by IUCN, each of them mapping its distribution in completely different places.…”

Dietary and temporal partitioning facilitates coexistence of sympatric carnivores in the Everest region

“…Wolf and red fox are successful generalists, inhabiting various landscapes in the Northern Hemisphere (Díaz‐Ruiz et al, 2011; Krofel et al, 2022), while lynx occur in less disturbed areas of Eurasia. Comparatively, snow leopard are more threatened and only occur in Central Asia (Lyngdoh et al, 2020; Shrotriya et al, 2012).…”