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by Scottie Westfall

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Hybrid origin of the pit bull revealed in new studies

April 1, 2015 by SWestfall3

skull 1

A recent study of pit bull skulls using 3-D imaging technology has revealed that they have skull measurements that are more similar to the extinct canids in the genus Borophagus. Further analysis involving SNP technology revealed that the average of 24.6 percent ancestry that is from a canid that is neither wolf nor domestic dog.

Abbott Millard, a canid researcher with the Dog Origins Project, has performed the 3-D imaging research, which included 130 pit bull skulls. His a comparison with the measurements of the pit bull skulls with those of several extant and extinct canids.

“Our results show that pit bulls have skull morphology most similar to the extinct dogs of the genus Borophagus. These results were quite shocking because Borophagus has been classified with an extinct group of canids that were thought not be related to modern dogs at all,” said Millard.

However, knowing that canids have a tendency towards convergent evolution in skull morphology, it is quite possible that pit bulls, a breed known for its massive jaw strength, evolved similar jaws to the Borphagus through similar selection pressures.

Which is why the Dog Origins Project decided to do some research on pit bull DNA. The researchers used SNP chip technology, which allows for extensive genome-wide assays. Similar research has been used to disprove East Asian origins for the domestic dog and raised real questions about the taxonomic status of the red wolf.

Otto Klinger, lead geneticist at the Dog Origins Project, compared DNA from 20 pit bulls, 15 boxers, 4 dingoes, 6 wolves from 4 different regions in the Old World, 12 coyotes, and 3 golden jackals. Pit bulls were found to be mostly domestic dog in origin, but a large sample of their genetic material didn’t match any extant canid.

“It is possible that this mystery canid was actually an undocumented wolf subspecies, but the finding that pit bulls have similar skulls to the Borophagus raises intriguing questions. It could mean that the pit bull terrier developed in America was crossed with a relict population of Borophagus,” said Klinger, “There are many mentions of strange wolves in the colonial literature that might be very suggestive of Borophagus, and there are mentions of blocky-headed wolfdogs belonging to the Algonquin peoples of the Northeast. Maybe these dogs and wolves were the relict Borophagus. They certainly would have been great fighting dogs.”

The discovery of the hybrid origin for the pit bull, though, does raise some important questions.

Millard believes that these studies mean that pit bulls deserve their own species status:

“The hybrid origin of the pit bull strongly suggests that we should not be classifying pit bulls as part of the greater dog species. We propose that the scientific name for the new pit bull species be Canis horribilus. Pit bulls are the grizzly bears of the dog world, so we think that we should use the grizzly bear’s name [Ursus arctos horribilus] to define the pit bull.”

With this new definitive DNA research on pit bulls, breed specific legislation will now be much easier to enforce, and the Dog Origin Project plans on donating its findings to law enforcement to develop a definitive pit bull genetic test.

“Our research will now have a positive impact upon society. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am wih the possibilities!” said Klinger.

So we now know why pit bulls are so different from other dogs. They are hybrids with a mystery canid that might be a survivor from the days of the ancient Borophaginae.

*The above is an April Fools’ prank. Not a single word of it is factual. Reposting or quoting this article as if it were fact will make you look extremely stupid.

 

 

 

 

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Posted in dog breeds, dog domestication | Tagged Borophagus, pit bull | 15 Comments

15 Responses

  1. on April 1, 2015 at 12:12 am Marg

    very interesting article


  2. on April 1, 2015 at 1:31 am casdog1

    *nodding sagely* Eeenteresting…


  3. on April 1, 2015 at 2:04 am ragingbulldogges

    Ha ha ha ha ha, Good one, Scottie. April fools!


  4. on April 1, 2015 at 9:37 am massugu

    Hmmmmm….


  5. on April 1, 2015 at 10:23 am Suzette Sandford

    This information on the pit bull is amazing. Is there any way I could post this on my Facebook page for all to read! Thank you, Suzette Sandford

    Sent from my iPhone

    >


  6. on April 1, 2015 at 10:52 am Clayton Reese (@SlyClay117)

    Fascinating!


  7. on April 1, 2015 at 11:14 am Steve Barker

    Maybe you could mark this as satire or a joke so that, when the dogsbite.org crowd start using this is as proof that “pit bulls” aren’t like other dogs, we can at least counter that with your own statement that you were joking. Thanks.


    • on April 1, 2015 at 11:16 am retrieverman

      https://retrieverman.net/2010/04/01/dire-wolf-remains-discovered-in-west-virginia/

      How I deal with it.


  8. on April 1, 2015 at 7:51 pm EmilyS

    Personally, I’m looking forward to Colleen and her minions being punked by this… Just shaking my head at the pitbull advocates sites getting upset…


  9. on April 2, 2015 at 3:11 am Nina Hasiwa

    I am not sure, everybody understood, you are joking. You are not doing a favor to one of the most misunderstood creatures on the planet.


    • on April 2, 2015 at 8:16 am retrieverman

      Perhaps you are unfamiliar with concept of an April Fools’ prank, and you also don’t understand how I actually deal with the possibility that it might be used by the wrong people.

      Reread the post today. I did the same thing with my late surviving dire wolf April Fools’ prank from several years ago.


  10. on April 7, 2015 at 6:05 am 4hgirl

    I’m embarrassed to say that I totally fell for this, but in my defense, it was a very well put together prank.


  11. on April 7, 2015 at 4:11 pm Ogre Magi

    DAMN, I am sorry I did not see this on April Fools day. In the same spirit of zoological tom foolery here is one from a few years back
    http://theprancingpapio.blogspot.com/2011/04/new-study-shows-that-gay-orangutans-are.html


  12. on April 8, 2015 at 8:47 am chathamhillranch

    Lost me at skull comparisons linking Pit Bulls to extinct canids…

    I suppose our own skulls must be linked to extinct Sapiens.

    Very funny.


  13. on April 15, 2015 at 2:08 pm LOST DOG ON 3/31 IN WILSON COUNTY, NC (ON THE WILSON/ WAYNE COUNTY LINE). | SidCody1998 – Friends of Wayne County Animals NC

    […] Hybrid origin of the pit bull revealed in new studies […]



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