Striped jackal
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Striped Jackal ( Canis adustus ) |
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| Sundevall , 1847 |
The striped jackal ( Canis adustus ) is a wild dog from the genus Canis , which can be found in large areas of Africa .
features
The striped jackal is a medium-sized wild dog with a shoulder height of about 45 centimeters, a head body length of about 65 centimeters and a weight of typically eight to twelve kilograms. Males and females are practically the same size, but on average the males weigh a little more than the females. The coat, with a brownish-gray basic color, has a more or less pronounced oblique, light stripe on the flanks.
distribution and habitat
The striped jackal is only widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. It occurs from the West African coast in Guinea and Senegal via Central Africa to Sudan and Ethiopia in East Africa and from there south to Namibia , Botswana and South Africa . In the northeastern part the area overlaps with the distribution area of the African gold wolf , in the east and south with that of the black-backed jackal .
The striped jackal lives in numerous, very different habitats . He avoids the open savannah and dry desert areas and stays mostly in woody, but not in richly forested areas. In addition to forest areas, the preferred areas primarily include scrub and grassland as well as agricultural areas and wetlands; it also occurs in the direct vicinity of human dwellings and localities. In eastern Africa it can be found in mountain regions up to heights of approx. 2700 m.
In areas in which, in addition to the striped jackal, other species such as the black-backed jackal ( Canis mesomelas ) or the African gold wolf ( Canis anthus ) occur, the existing habitats are divided between the species. The striped jackal in these areas mainly uses the habitats with denser vegetation. Aggressive clashes broke out in western Zimbabwe, with the black-backed jackal displacing the striped jackal from the grasslands.
Way of life
The striped jackals enter into pair relationships that last until one partner dies. Each pair defends its territory against conspecifics. The animals are nocturnal and hunt individually rather than in pairs. They cover an average of 15 to 20 kilometers per night.
The animals' diet consists largely of vegetable matter and not meat. The striped jackal also eats meat, but not primarily. The jackal eats four types of fruit particularly frequently: the mobola plum ( Parinari curatellifolia ), the chocolate berry ( Vitex payos ), the natal fig ( Ficus natalensis ) and the waterberry ( Syzygium guineense ). Nevertheless, the jackals are very skilled at killing small mammals , up to the size of a hare. Even insects are eaten. The jackals are also scavengers to a small extent.
The pairings usually take place in the months of July to September, i.e. in southern early spring. After a gestation period of around two months, which is similar to that of a domestic dog, the female gives birth to a litter of mostly four to six pups in an aardvark den. Both parents look after the boys and look after them for at least eleven months. Striped jackals can live up to twelve years.
Evolution and systematics
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Phylogenetic system of the genus Canis according to Koepfli et al. 2015
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The striped jackal is assigned to the genus of the wolf-like and jackal-like ( Canis ), which comprises a total of eight species. In addition to other species known as jackals, it mainly includes dogs of the wolf type . The first scientific description was made in 1847 by the Swedish naturalist Karl Jakob Sundevall . He referred to the species directly as Canis adustus and classified it accordingly in the genus Canis .
As part of the presentation of the genome sequence of the domestic dog , Lindblad-Toh et al. 2005 published a phylogenetic analysis of dogs (Canidae). In the context of this presentation, the monophyly of the genus Canis was questioned on the basis of molecular biological data . Accordingly, the strip and the Schakal jackal provide sister species , which fall as basalste types of all other members of the genus, and in addition the Rothund ( Cuon alpinus ) and the African wild dog ( Lycaon pictus ) are compared. These two species would have to be included in the Canis genus in order for it to survive as a monophyletic genus. Zrzavý and Řičánková also came to this conclusion in 2004 and suggested separating the two jackals from the genus Canis ; Following their proposal, the striped jackal of the monotypical genus Schaeffia should be classified as Schaeffia adusta and the black-backed jackal of the genus Lupulella as Lupulella mesomelas . The Canid Specialist Group of the IUCN spoke out at a congress held in May 2019 in favor of placing both the black-backed jackal and the striped jackal in the genus Lupulella .
According to Wilson & Reeder 2005, a total of six subspecies are distinguished within the species.
Threat and protection
The species is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as not endangered (least concern) due to the size of the population and the large distribution area. The black-backed jackal is relatively common within its range. Estimates of the herd size assume around three million animals, the population is estimated to be stable. The jackal is very adaptable and able to live in the area of human settlements, a threat to the species is only accepted in the event of extreme habitat changes or the spread of epidemics.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f Canis adustus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: RPD Atkinson, AJ Loveridge, 2008. Accessed May 31, 2012 found.
- ↑ Canis mesomelas in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2011.2. Listed by: AJ Loveridge, JAJ Nel, 2008. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
- ↑ Klaus-Peter Koepfli, John Pollinger, Raquel Godinho, Jacqueline Robinson, Amanda Lea, Sarah Hendricks, Rena M. Schweizer, Olaf Thalmann, Pedro Silva, Zhenxin Fan, Andrey A. Yurchenko, Pavel Dobrynin, Alexey Makunin, James A. Cahill , Beth Shapiro, Francisco Álvares, José C. Brito, Eli Geffen, Jennifer A. Leonard, Kristofer M. Helgen, Warren E. Johnson, Stephen J. O'Brien, Blaire Van Valkenburgh, Robert K. Wayne: Genome-wide Evidence Reveals that African and Eurasian Golden Jackals Are Distinct Species. In: Current Biology. 2015, doi : 10.1016 / j.cub.2015.06.060 .
- ↑ Kerstin Lindblad-Toh et al .: Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog. Nature 438, December 2005; Page 803–819. ( Abstract ).
- ↑ Jan Zrzavý, Věra Řičánková: Phylogeny of Recent Canidae (Mammalia, Carnivora): Relative Reliability and Utility of Morphological and Molecular Datasets. In: Zoologica Scripta Volume 33, No. 4, July 2004, pp. 311-333, doi : 10.1111 / j.0300-3256.2004.00152.x .
- ↑ Francisco Alvares, Wieslaw Bogdanowicz, Liz AD Campbell, Raquel Godinho, Jennifer Hatlauf, Yadvendradev V. Jhala, Andrew C. Kitchener, Klaus-Peter Koepfli, Miha Krofel, Helen Senn, Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Suvi Viranta and Geraldine Werhahn: Old World Canis spp. with taxonomic ambiguity : Workshop conclusions and recommendations. Vairão, Portugal, 28th-30thMay 2019, IUCN / SSC Canid Specialist Group, PDF
- ↑ Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Canis adustus ( Memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
Web links
- Canis adustus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: RPD Atkinson, AJ Loveridge, 2008. Accessed May 31, 2012 found.