Dingo: Scientists deciphered this mysterious Australian animal

Scientists have found out What is a dingo? a Australia’s mysterious indigenous species what or what They look like stray dogs but are genetically different.

Yes good Dingo, a species revered by the indigenous people and hated by ranchers For being the largest predator in Australia since the extinction of the Tasmanian tiger in the last century, They are genetically different from dogs, they have more similarities with dogs than wolves, According to a new study published Friday in the specialized journal science advances.

The new research, involving 26 authors from 10 countries, compared the genome of a female desert dingo named Sandy, who was rescued in 2014, with five dog breeds and a Greenland wolf.

discover it The dingo genome is structurally different from the boxer genomeGerman Shepherd, Basenji, Great Dane, and Labrador, but this Sandy genome It looks more like a dog, especially a German shepherd, than a Greenland wolf.

“Sandy, the desert dingo, is in an intermediate position between a wolf and a pet dog”, Concluded by Bill Ballard from La Trobe and Melbourne Universities. So that the team is safer Alpine dingo genome sequence, The breed lives in the Australian Alps in the east of the country.

This discovery will help to learn more about the evolution of the dingo And to provide data on the history of the peoples brought by sea from Southeast Asia, the scientists said.

and that is The placement of the dingo on the evolutionary ladder has been in dispute for some time. Some specialists assert that these slender cinnamon-colored canines brought to the continent between 5,000 and 8,500 years ago resemble domestic dogs.

When they finish sequencing the alpine dingo genome, the team hopes to learn more about the chronology and clarify whether it was a single or multiple migration.

Dingo and humans

Like a wolf in North America, Dingo stirs up divisions: lThey are idealized by city dwellers and also play an important role in indigenous culture, but farmers hate them because they are supposed to kill livestock.

According to Ballard, Dingos have evolved to hunt small marsupials and cannot easily digest fat-rich foods. Subsequently Lambs are more likely to prey on wild dogs or hybrids.

This theory could prove it in the future dingoes are not responsible for the slaughter of cattle And thus get rid of their bad reputation.