The African wolf, for which we herein recognise Canis lupaster Hemprich and Ehrenberg, 1832 (Symbolae Physicae quae ex Itinere Africam Borealem er Asoam Occidentalem Decas Secunda. Berlin, 1833) as the valid species name (we consider the older name Canis anthus Cuvier, 1820 [Le Chacal de Sénégal, Femelle. In: Geoffroy St.-Hilaire E, Cuvier F, editors. Histoire Naturelle des Mammifères Paris, A. Belin, 1820] a nomen dubium), is a medium-sized canid with wolf-like characters. Because of phenotypic similarity, specimens of African wolf have long been assigned to golden jackal (Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758 [Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata, 1758]). Here we provide, through rigorous morphological analysis, a species description for this taxonomically overlooked species. Through molecular sequencing we assess its distribution in Africa, which remains uncertain due to confusion regarding possible co-occurrence with the Eurasian golden jackal. Canis lupaster differs from all other Canis spp. including the golden jackal in its cranial morphology, while phylogenetically it shows close affinity to the Holarctic grey wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 [Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata, 1758]). All sequences generated during this study clustered with African wolf specimens, consistent with previous data for the species. We suggest that the estimated current geographic range of golden jackal in Africa represents the African wolf range. Further research is needed in eastern Egypt, where a hybrid zone between Eurasian golden jackal and African wolf may exist. Our results highlight the need for improved studies of geographic range and population surveys for the taxon, which is classified as ‘least concern’ by the IUCN due to its erroneous identification as golden jackal. As a species exclusively distributed in Africa, investigations of the biology and threats to African wolf are needed.

中文翻译：

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重新发现被遗忘的犬科动物

对于非洲狼，我们在这里将其称为Canis lupaster Hemprich和Ehrenberg，1832年（西非非洲ymymae quaica ex Itinere Africanm Borealem er Asoam Occidentalem Decas Secunda，柏林，1833年）为有效的物种名称（我们认为较早的名称为Canis anthus Cuvier，1820年） [Le Chacal deSénégal，Femelle。出处：Geoffroy St.-Hilaire E，Cuvier F，编辑。HistoireNaturelle desMammifères巴黎，A。Belin，1820年，nomen dubium），是一个中型犬科动物，具狼状特征。 。由于表型上的相似性，非洲狼的标本长期以来一直被分配到金顶狼（Canis aureus Linnaeus，1758 [Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae，Secundum Classs，Ordines，Genera，Species，cum Characteribus，Differentiis，Synonymis，Locis。Tomus I （Editio decima，reformata，1758年）。在这里，我们通过严格的形态分析，该分类学上被忽视物种的物种描述。通过分子测序，我们评估了其在非洲的分布，由于与欧亚金狐可能并存而引起的混淆，该分布仍不确定。Canis lupaster与所有其他Canis spp不同。包括在其颅骨形态上的金色狐狼，而在系统发育上，它显示出与Holarctic灰太狼（Canis lupus Linnaeus，1758 [Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae，Secundum Classs，Ordines，Genera，Species，cum Characteribus，Differentiis，Synonymis， Locis。Tomus I. Editio decima，reformata，1758年）。该研究过程中产生的所有序列均与非洲狼标本聚集在一起，与该物种先前的数据一致。我们建议非洲目前估计的金毛狼的地理范围代表了非洲狼的范围。在埃及东部可能需要进一步的研究，那里可能存在欧亚金狐和非洲狼之间的混合地带。我们的结果表明，有必要对分类单元的地理范围和人口调查进行改进的研究，该分类单元由于被错误地识别为“黄金jack狼”而被自然保护联盟列为“最不关注”。作为专门分布在非洲的物种，需要对生物学和对非洲狼的威胁进行调查。世界自然保护联盟（IUCN）将其错误识别为“黄金jack狼”，将其归类为“最不关心”。作为专门分布在非洲的物种，需要对生物学和对非洲狼的威胁进行调查。世界自然保护联盟（IUCN）将其错误识别为“黄金jack狼”，将其归类为“最不关心”。作为专门分布在非洲的物种，需要对生物学和对非洲狼的威胁进行调查。