@article{fdi:010057128,
  title = {{R}eviving the {A}frican wolf {C}anis lupus lupaster in {N}orth and {W}est {A}frica : a mitochondrial lineage ranging more than 6,000 km wide},
  author = {{G}aubert, {P}hilippe and {B}loch, {C}. and {B}enyacoub, {S}. and {A}bdelhamid, {A}. and {P}agani, {P}. and {D}jagoun, {C}ams and {C}ouloux, {A}. and {D}ufour, {S}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he recent discovery of a lineage of gray wolf in {N}orth-{E}ast {A}frica suggests the presence of a cryptic canid on the continent, the {A}frican wolf {C}anis lupus lupaster. {W}e analyzed the mt{DNA} diversity (cytochrome b and control region) of a series of {A}frican {C}anis including wolf-like animals from {N}orth and {W}est {A}frica. {O}ur objectives were to assess the actual range of {C}. l. lupaster, to further estimate the genetic characteristics and demographic history of its lineage, and to question its taxonomic delineation from the golden jackal {C}. aureus, with which it has been considered synonymous. {W}e confirmed the existence of four distinct lineages within the gray wolf, including {C}. lupus/familiaris ({H}olarctic wolves and dogs), {C}. l. pallipes, {C}. l. chanco and {C}. l. lupaster. {T}axonomic assignment procedures identified wolf-like individuals from {A}lgeria, {M}ali and {S}enegal, as belonging to {C}. l. lupaster, expanding its known distribution c. 6,000 km to the west. {W}e estimated that the {A}frican wolf lineage (i) had the highest level of genetic diversity within {C}. lupus, (ii) coalesced during the {L}ate {P}leistocene, contemporaneously with {H}olarctic wolves and dogs, and (iii) had an effective population size of c. 80,000 females. {O}ur results suggest that the {A}frican wolf is a relatively ancient gray wolf lineage with a fairly large, past effective population size, as also suggested by the {P}leistocene fossil record. {U}nique field observations in {S}enegal allowed us to provide a morphological and behavioral diagnosis of the {A}frican wolf that clearly distinguished it from the sympatric golden jackal. {H}owever, the detection of {C}. l. lupaster mt{DNA} haplotypes in {C}. aureus from {S}enegal brings the delineation between the {A}frican wolf and the golden jackal into question. {I}n terms of conservation, it appears urgent to further characterize the status of the {A}frican wolf with regard to the {A}frican golden jackal.},
  keywords = {},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{P}los {O}ne},
  volume = {7},
  numero = {8},
  pages = {e42740},
  ISSN = {1932-6203},
  year = {2012},
  DOI = {10.1371/journal.pone.0042740},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010057128},
}