Discovery of the World’s First Dog-Fox Hybrid: A Genetic Anomaly
In 2021, an animal resembling a dog was brought to an animal rehabilitation center in southern Brazil after being hit by a car. However, this creature exhibited peculiar behavior that raised questions about its identity, it turns out it was a Dog-fox hybrid.
Dog-fox hybrid Behavior and Genetic Investigation
The animal had a dog-like appearance, complete with long, pointed, fox-like ears, but its behavior included climbing bushes, a trait more commonly associated with the local Pampas fox. Interestingly, it also preferred consuming rats over standard dog food.
Curious caretakers suspected this animal might be a hybrid, possibly a mix of a domestic dog and a local wild canid species. To confirm this hypothesis, they enlisted the help of geneticists Thales Renato Ochotorena de Freitas and Rafael Kretschmer from Brazilian universities.
Their study, published last month in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, confirmed that the animal was the world’s first documented fox-dog hybrid.
Dog-fox Hybrid process is Unusual Hybridization
The finding intrigued experts in animal genetics as it involved the hybridization of two distinct species: the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris) and the Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), which belong to separate genera separated by 6.7 million years of evolution. This level of inter-species hybridization is rare among vertebrates.
To ascertain the hybrid’s species, geneticists examined the number of chromosomes in the animal’s cells, which totaled 76. This unique chromosome count hinted at hybridization, as the maned wolf, the only local canid species with 76 chromosomes, did not match the animal’s characteristics.
Mitochondrial DNA and Nuclear DNA of the Dog-fox Hybrid
Further genetic analysis revealed that Dogxim (as she was named, derived from “dog” and “graxaim do campo,” the Portuguese name for Pampas fox) had mitochondrial DNA from a Pampas fox mother and nuclear DNA with a mixture of dog and Pampas fox genes.
The creation of such a hybrid could be attributed to environmental changes. The overlapping habitats of Pampas foxes and domestic dogs, driven by habitat loss and development, provided opportunities for hybridization. Abandoned dogs in natural areas also contributed to this phenomenon.
Dog-fox Hybrid Future Implications
While inter-species hybrids are typically rare and unlikely to establish new populations, predicting species evolution in the face of environmental disturbances like climate change remains challenging. Such hybridization can potentially introduce genetic weaknesses and diseases, impacting the conservation of native species.
Dogxim’s legacy underscores the need for further research on the consequences of hybridization for wildlife conservation, genetics, ecology, and behaviour in wild populations.
Read the original article on National Geographic.
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