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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mythusmage" data-source="post: 2703158" data-attributes="member: 571">Well, I did some online research regarding the domestic cat, and learned the animal can sucessfully interbreed with lots of other species of small cat. Servals, asian fishing cats, lynxes and bobcats. So I get to digest the data I found a bit. but rather than leave you waiting I present a bit of supplemental material about canids. Specifically wolves.According to recent genetic studies dogs are wolves. That is, you cannot tell a dog from a wolf by looking at the genes alone. This makes dogs a subspecies of wolf, Canis lupus familiaris. Genetic work on red wolves has also shown a very close relationship to grey wolves. As a matter of fact, that same work has shown interbreeding with dogs and wolves to some degree. There are those who insist the red wolf is actually the result of crossbreeding between dogs and grey wolves. At the very least it would appear that red wolves are a subspecies of grey wolf themselves.Then you have the coyote, which is known to crossbreed with domestic dogs, and has been known to interbreed with grey wolves under the right conditions. Larger specimens may owe their size to dog or wolf ancestry. However, I know of no genetic work indicating how close grey wolves and coyotes are. If the two are as close as wolves and dogs the taxonomy will likely have to be changed to the following:Canis lupus: The grey wolfCanis lupus rufus: The red wolfCanis lupus familiaris: The domestic dogCanis lupus latrans; The coyoteNote: The dingo of Australia is not a separate species, or even a subspecies. The dingo is properly considered a race of domestic dog. Being descended from animals brought by Malay travelers visiting Australia's northern coast some 3,000 years ago. In appearance and behavior it is much like the pariah dogs of India and the Middle East. Having traits in common with the dhole, this indicates possible domestic dog-dhole interbreeding as well. Note that both races of feral dog breed once a year and have a strict pack hierarchy. Note too that in times of abundance grey wolf breeding and pack hierarchy tends to follow domestic dog norms. That is, when things are tough breeding is once a year and the alpha pair only. When things are cushy it's breed when you feel like it and anybody can participate. Since dingos live in a rough land they've gone back to once a year and only the boss dogs can do it.If you're wondering if domestic dogs can breed with any sort of canid, be assured they cannot breed with foxes, jackals, cape hunting dogs, or maned wolves.</blockquote>

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