For decades, the African Wolf was misclassified as a subspecies of the Eurasian Golden Jackal (Canis aureus). This taxonomic confusion has only recently been clarified through extensive genetic and morphological studies, which have led to the recognition of the African Wolf as a distinct species. Here is the summary of its recent taxonomic history.
Pendant des décennies, le Loup doré africain a été mal classifié comme une sous-espèce du Chacal doré (Canis aureus). Cette confusion taxonomique n’a été récemment clarifiée que grâce à des études génétiques et morphologiques approfondies, qui ont conduit à la reconnaissance du Loup africain (Canis lupaster) en tant qu’espèce distincte. Voici un résumé de son histoire taxonomique récente.
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The first major breakthrough in the modern understanding of this species came in 2011 when a study by Rueness et al. revealed that the canid previously identified as the Egyptian Golden Jackal was actually a distinct species. Their research demonstrated that Canis aureus lupaster was not a Golden Jackal and was not restricted to Egypt. This finding paved the way for further research into the broader distribution and distinctiveness of this African canid.
In 2012, Gaubert et al. expanded on this discovery by showing that the African Wolf lineage, now known as Canis lupus lupaster, ranged across North and West Africa. Their genetic analysis indicated a significant evolutionary distance between the African Wolf and other wolf and jackal lineages, emphasizing its unique status. This study, which revealed the species’ extensive range of over 6,000 kilometers, reinforced the idea that this canid had been misunderstood for a long time.
Around the same time, fieldwork in Morocco by Urios and his team, published in 2012, confirmed the presence of this canid in the Middle Atlas Mountains. Using camera-traps, they captured images of a large canid known locally by the Berbers as “Ouchen”. The images revealed distinctive wolf-like characteristics, such as a larger frame, a powerful neck, and a robust build—traits that clearly set it apart from jackals. When considered alongside earlier studies from North and West Africa, cited above, these findings confirmed that the African Wolf also inhabits Morocco, further extending the known range of this species.
The most significant genetic evidence came in 2015 when Koepfli and colleagues analysed genomic data from African and Eurasian golden jackals. Their work, published in Current Biology, confirmed that these populations represented two distinct species: the African Golden Wolf (Canis anthus) and the Eurasian Golden Jackal (Canis aureus). The study showed that the two lineages had diverged more than a million years ago, despite their morphological similarities, which likely resulted from morphological convergence.
Finally, the study by Viranta et al., published in 2017, revisited historical type specimens to clarify the African Wolf’s taxonomic identity. They confirmed that the species should be classified as Canis lupaster, based on a preserved specimen in Berlin’s Museum für Naturkunde. This study provided conclusive evidence that the African Wolf had long been misclassified and resolved nearly two centuries of confusion in its taxonomy.
In conclusion, the African Wolf (Canis lupaster), previously mistaken for the Eurasian Golden Jackal, has emerged as a distinct and ancient lineage. Modern genetic and morphological research has clarified its status, contributing to our understanding of the evolutionary history of canids in Africa.
References:
Gaubert, P., Bloch, C., Benyacoub, S., Abdelhamid, A., Pagani, P., Djagoun, C. A. M. S. & Couloux A., Dufour, S. 2012. Reviving the African Wolf Canis lupus lupaster in North and West Africa: A Mitochondrial Lineage Ranging More than 6,000 km Wide. PLoS ONE 7(8): e42740.
Koepfli, K.-P., Pollinger, J., Godinho, R., Robinson, J., Lea, A., Hendricks, S., Schweizer, R. M., Thalmann, O., Silva, P., Fan, Z., Yurchenko, A. A., Dobrynin, P., Makunin, A., Cahill, J. A., Shapiro, B., Álvares, F., Brito, J. C., Geffen, E., Leonard, J. A., Helgen, K. M., Johnson, W. E., O’Brien, S. J., Van Valkenburgh, B. & Wayne, R. K. 2015. Genome-wide Evidence Reveals that African and Eurasian Golden Jackals Are Distinct Species. Current Biology, 25(16), 2158–2165.
Rueness, E. K., Asmyhr, M. G., Sillero-Zubiri, C., Macdonald, D. W., Bekele, A., Atickem, A. & Stenseth, N. C. 2011. The cryptic African wolf: Canis aureus lupaster is not a golden jackal and is not endemic to Egypt. PLoS One 6:e16385.
Urios, V., Ramírez, C., Gallardo, M. & Rguibi Idrissi, H. 2012. Detectan al lobo en Marruecos gracias al uso del foto-trampeo. Quercus (319): 14-15.
Viranta, S., Atickem, A., Werdelin, L. & Stenseth, N. C. 2017. Rediscovering a forgotten canid species. BMC Zoology, 2, 6.
