In 1758, the Swedish botanist and zoologist Carl Linnaeus published in his Systema Naturae the binomial nomenclature – or the two-word naming – of species. Canis is the Latin word meaning "dog",[21] and under this genus, he listed the dog-like carnivores, including domestic dogs, wolves, and jackals. He classified the domestic dog as Canis familiaris, and on the next page, he classified the wolf as Canis lupus.[2] Linnaeus considered the dog to be a separate species from the wolf because of its cauda recurvata - its upturning tail, which is not found in any other canid.[22]
In 1999, a study of mitochondrial DNA indicated that the domestic dog might have originated from multiple grey wolf populations, with the dingo and New Guinea singing dog "breeds" having developed at a time when human communities were more isolated from each other.[23] In the third edition of Mammal Species of the World published in 2005, the mammalogist W. Christopher Wozencraft listed under the wolf Canis lupus its wild subspecies, and proposed two additional subspecies: "familiaris Linneaus, 1758 [domestic dog]" and "dingo Meyer, 1793 [domestic dog]". Wozencraft included hallstromi – the New Guinea singing dog – as a taxonomic synonym for the dingo. Wozencraft referred to the mDNA study as one of the guides informing his decision.[4] Other mammalogists have noted the inclusion of familiaris and dingo under a "domestic dog" clade.[24] This classification by Wozencraft is debated among zoologists.[25]
In 2019, a workshop hosted by the IUCN/Species Survival Commission's Canid Specialist Group considered the New Guinea singing dog and the dingo to be feral dogs Canis familiaris, and therefore should not be assessed for the IUCN Red List.[26]
Caption this Meme
