Occurrence of black wolves in the Northern Apennines, Italy

• Autorzy: Apollonio M. , Mattioli L. , Scandura M.
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

The occurrence of black-coated individuals in wolf Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 populations is not surprising itself, but their presence in populations recovering from a severe numerical decline has been considered a possible sign of crossbreeding with the domestic dog. In the northern Apennines (Italy), black wolves occur at a non-negligible frequency. In a 3300 km area, 22% of wolves observed and 23% of all dead wolves found were represented by animals with a completely black coat. One 'black' wolf belonging to the studied population was analysed by a set of microsatellite loci, and no trace of hybridization was found in its ancestry. This result induced us to consider the occurrence of a black phenotype in this area possibly derived from a natural combination of wolf alleles in coat colour determining genes, and not necessarily as the result of crossbreeding with the domestic form.

Słowa kluczowe

EN

wolf; Apennines Mountains; Italy; hybridization; Canis lupus; coat colour; black wolf; colour

• Wydawca: -
• Czasopismo: Acta Theriologica
• Rocznik: 2004
• Tom: 49
• Numer: 2
• Opis fizyczny: p.281-285,ref.

Twórcy

autor

Apollonio M.

• University of Sassari, Via Muroni 25, I-07100, Sassari, Italy

autor

Mattioli L.

autor

Scandura M.

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