Dingo

This article is about the Australian dingo. For other uses, see Dingo (disambiguation).
"Warrigal" redirects here. For the plant known as Warrigal in Australia, see Tetragonia tetragonioides.

Dingo
Temporal range: Holocene (3,450 years BP – recent)[1][2]
Kakadu National Park NT
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species:
C. lupus
Subspecies:
C. l. dingo
Trinomial name
Canis lupus dingo
Meyer, 1793[3]
Distribution of the dingo: dingoes south of the dingo fence (black line) may have a higher prevalence of hybridisation
Synonyms

Canis familiaris Linnaeus, 1758[2]
Canis familiaris dingo Meyer, 1793[4]

Dingo on the beach at Fraser Island, Queensland

The dingo (either included in the species Canis familiaris, or considered one of the following independent taxa: Canis familiaris dingo, Canis dingo, or Canis lupus dingo) is an ancient (basal) lineage of dog[5][6] found in Australia. Its taxonomic classification is debated as indicated by the variety of scientific names presently applied in different publications. It is variously considered a form of domestic dog not warranting recognition as a subspecies, a subspecies of dog or wolf, or a full species in its own right.

The dingo is a medium-sized canine that possesses a lean, hardy body adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The dingo's three main coat colourations are light ginger or tan, black and tan, or creamy white. The skull is wedge-shaped and appears large in proportion to the body. The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog: their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic dogs, and can be traced back through Maritime Southeast Asia to Asia. The oldest remains of dingoes in Australia are around 3,500 years old.

A dingo pack usually consists of a mated pair, their offspring from the current year, and sometimes offspring from the previous year.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference greig2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference jackson2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference meyer1793 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference blumenbach1799 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Jackson, Stephen M.; Fleming, Peter J.S.; Eldridge, Mark D.B.; Archer, Michael; Ingleby, Sandy; Johnson, Rebecca N.; Helgen, Kristofer M. (28 October 2021). "Taxonomy of the Dingo: It's an ancient dog". Australian Zoologist. 41 (3): 347–357. doi:10.7882/AZ.2020.049. ISSN 0067-2238.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).