African golden jackal, Canis anthus Photo credit: Eyal Cohen Source: AAAS Science Magazine |
The world has a new species of dog - and creationists have another embarrassing fact to ignore.
Although strikingly similar, scientists have shown that the African and Asian golden jackal, until now classified as a single species, Canis aureus, are actually two different species which diverged from ancestral coyotes and grey wolves at different times; 1.3 and 1.9 million years ago, respectively. The similarity is probably due to very similar habitats, food and lifestyle giving rise to parallel evolution. The team have proposed the new name Canis anthus (African golden wolf) for the African species.