Canis lupus hominis

The answer to yesterday’s “Name the Species”  is the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis). As far as I know, it is the only naturally occurring species of water dog. These animals have very webbed feet, which much more webbed than any domestic breed used in the water.  One way to think of this animal is as a cross between an otter and a dog. It spends a lot of time in and near the water, and its diet includes lots of fish, frogs,  and crabs.

Now it looks like a leggier version of the South American bush dog. However, its closest relative is the crab-eating fox(Cerdocyon thous). If the small-eared dog is the otter-dog, then the crab-eating fox is the mink-dog. It eats animals that appear along the banks of the rivers. In Venezuela, it is a creature of the Llanos, where it can be seen catching crabs in the floodplains.

Now the crab-eating fox is quite common. Native peoples know this animal well, and many have domesticated them and kept them as pets. South American wild dogs are closely related to the genus Canis and its allies, and the crab-eating fox is rumored to have crossed with a domestic dog. That’s far more likely than the a domestic dog crossing with a vulpine fox.

The short-eared dog, by contrast, is not well-known even by native peoples. It is not widely hunted, nor is it widely described in native folklore. Where it does exist, it exists at very low densities. As a result, we know very little about them.

The dogs give off a musky odor and can raise their hackles. The bitches are 1/3 larger than the dogs and do not have hackles or the musky odor. In all other dog species in existence, the bitches and vixens are smaller than the dogs.

What I find more interesting is that the short-eared dog can be rather short-haired. When nature creates a creature that can live in or near the water, evolution created a short-haired animal. This photo really shows the texture of the short-eared dog’s coat. Shorter hair is more practical in the water, for it doesn’t get bogged down, allowing the animal to swim more efficiently.

So the short-eared dog was the identity of the last “What is the species?” post.

And it didn’t hurt that wordpress automatically generated a link to an earlier post of mine that features a rare video of the short-eared dog.

South America has the greatest diversity of wild dogs species in the world, and it is really amazing how many unusual dogs can be found there. The short-eared dog is certainly one of them.