Canis familiaris Linnaeus, [ 2 ] Canis familiaris dingo Meyer, [ 4 ]. The dingo either included in the species Canis familiaris , or considered one of the following independent taxa : Canis familiaris dingo , Canis dingo , or Canis lupus dingo is an ancient basal lineage of dog [ 5 ] [ 6 ] found in Australia. Its taxonomic classification is debated as indicated by the variety of scientific names presently applied in different publications.
It is variously considered a form of domestic dog not warranting recognition as a subspecies , a subspecies of dog or wolf , or a full species in its own right. The dingo is a medium-sized canine that possesses a lean, hardy body adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The dingo's three main coat colourations are light ginger or tan, black and tan, or creamy white.
The skull is wedge-shaped and appears large in proportion to the body. The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog : their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic dogs, and can be traced back through Maritime Southeast Asia to Asia.
The oldest remains of dingoes in Australia are around 3, years old. A dingo pack usually consists of a mated pair, their offspring from the current year, and sometimes offspring from the previous year. The name "dingo" comes from the Dharug language used by the Indigenous Australians of the Sydney area. The only domestic animal they have is the dog, which in their language is called Dingo, and a good deal resembles the fox dog of England.
These animals are equally shy of us, and attached to the natives. One of them is now in the possession of the Governor, and tolerably well reconciled to his new master. Related Dharug words include "ting-ko" meaning "bitch", and "tun-go-wo-re-gal" meaning "large dog". Dogs associated with indigenous people were first recorded by Jan Carstenszoon in the Cape York Peninsula area in In , a study of the maternal lineage through the use of mitochondrial DNA mDNA as a genetic marker indicates that the dingo and New Guinea singing dog developed at a time when human populations were more isolated from each other.
