| Mongolian wolf | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | C. l. chanco |
| Trinomial name | |
| Canis lupus chanco | |
 | |
| Map showing the range of the Mongolian wolf (blue) and theHimalayan wolf (pink) in China, Mongolia, Korea, and Russia | |
| Synonyms | |
TheMongolian wolf (Canis lupus chanco) is asubspecies of gray wolf which is native toMongolia, northern and centralChina,Korea, and theUssuri region ofRussia.
Canis chanco was thescientific name proposed byJohn Edward Gray in 1863 who described a skin of a wolf that was shot inChinese Tartary.[2] This specimen was classified as a wolfsubspeciesCanis lupus chanco bySt. George Jackson Mivart in 1880.[4] In 1923, Japanese zoologistYoshio Abe proposed separating the wolves of the Korean Peninsula fromC. chanco as a separate species,C. coreanus, because of their comparatively narrower muzzle.[3] This distinction was contested byReginald Pocock, who dismissed it as a local variant ofC. chanco.[5][6] In the third edition ofMammal Species of the World published in 2005, the mammalogist W. Christopher Wozencraft listed under the wolfCanis lupus thetaxonomic synonyms for the subspeciesCanis lupus chanco. Wozencraft classifiedC. coreanus (Abe, 1923) as one of its synonyms.[7]
There remains taxonomic confusion over the Mongolian wolf. In 1941, Pocock had referred to theTibetan wolf asC. l. laniger and classified it as a synonym underC. l. chanco.[6] However, Wozencraft includedC. l. laniger as a synonym forC. l. filchneri Matschie (1907).[7] There are some researchers who still refer to Pocock's classification of the Tibetan wolf asC. l. chanco, which has caused taxonomic confusion. TheNCBI/Genbank listsC. l. chanco as the Mongolian wolf[8] butC. l. laniger as the Tibetan wolf,[9] and there are academic works that refer toC. l. chanco as the Mongolian wolf.[10][11][12][13]
To add further confusion, in 2019, a workshop hosted by theIUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group noted that theHimalayan wolf's distribution included the Himalayan range and the Tibetan Plateau. The group recommends that this wolf lineage be known as the "Himalayan wolf" and classified asCanis lupus chanco until a genetic analysis of theholotypes is available. The Himalayan wolf currently lacks a proper morphological analysis.[14]
Gray described thetype specimen fromChinese Tartary as follows:
The furfulvous, on the back longer, rigid, with intermixed black and gray hairs; the throat, chest, belly, and inside of the legs pure white; head pale gray-brown; forehead grizzled with short black and gray hairs.Hab. Chinese Tartary. CalledChanco. The skull is very similar to, and has the same teeth as, the European wolf (C. lupus). The animal is very like the Common Wolf, but rather shorter on the legs; and the ears, the sides of the body, and outside of the limbs are covered with short, pale fulvous hairs. The length of its head and body are 42 in (1,100 mm); tail 15 in (380 mm).[2]
The prominent Russian zoologist, Vladimir Georgievich Heptner, described Mongolian wolves from theUssuri region of Russia as follows:
Dimensions are not large – likeC. l. desertorum, or somewhat larger, but markedly smaller than the Siberian forest wolves. Coloration is dirty gray, frosted with a weak admixture of ocherous color and without pale-yellow or chestnut tones. The fur is coarse and stiff. Total body length of males 93 cm (37 in) – 158 cm (62 in); tail length 30 cm (12 in) – 40 cm (16 in); hind foot length 16 cm (6.3 in) – 24 cm (9.4 in); ear height 10 cm (3.9 in) – 14.5 cm (5.7 in); shoulder height 58 cm (23 in) – 89 cm (35 in); and weight 26 kg (57 lb) – 37 kg (82 lb). Total body length of females 90 cm (35 in) – 109 cm (43 in); tail length 30 cm (12 in) – 40 cm (16 in); hind foot length 16 cm (6.3 in) – 23 cm (9.1 in); ear height 9.5 cm (3.7 in) – 13 cm (5.1 in); shoulder height 57 cm (22 in) – 75 cm (30 in); and weight 22 kg (49 lb) – 30 kg (66 lb).[13]
In the mountain taiga and mountain forest steppe regions of northern Mongolia, the diet of wolves predominantly consists of wild ungulates. Analysis of wolf scats collected in theKhentii Mountain range revealed that wild ungulates made up 89% of the consumed biomass, with Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) being the most important prey species. Notably, no evidence of domestic ungulates was found in the wolf diet in this near-natural ecosystem, suggesting that a diverse fauna of wild animals is important to limit livestock depredation.[15]
The range ofC. l. chanco includesMongolia,[4] northern and centralChina,[16][17]North Korea and theUssuri region of Russia, which they have expanded into from northern China recently, due to human settlement and its removal of their main competitor, theSiberian tiger.[13] Their range is bounded in the east by theAltai Mountains/Tien shan mountains withC. l. lupus,[16] in the south by theTibetan Plateau with the Himalayan wolf, and in southern China by a yet to be named wolf subspecies.[16][17] The taxonomic synonym authors have described their specimens in the following locations:chanco Gray (1863) Chinese Tartary;coreanus Abe (1923) Korea;karanorensis Matschie (1907) Kara-nor in theGobi Desert;niger Sclater (1874)Hanle in the Indian union territory ofLadakh; andtschillensis Matschie (1907) the coast ofZhili (Zhili is now mainly part ofHebei province).[6]
In Mongolia, the wolf is seen as a spirit animal whereas the dog is seen as a family member. Mongolians do not fear the wolf and understand that it is afraid of humans. It is sometimes called "the sheep's assassin". In legend, the Mongolian herders' first father was a wolf from which they had descended, and yet they are required to kill wolves to protect their flocks of sheep.[18] There is sustainable utilization of the wolf's fur in Mongolia.[19]
Genbank common name: Mongolian wolf
Genbank common name: Tibetan wolf
