Black-backed jackal

The black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) is a canid native to two areas of Africa, separated by roughly 900 km. One region includes the southernmost tip of the continent, including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. The other area is along the eastern coastline, including Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. It is listed by the IUCN as least concern, due to its widespread range and adaptability, although it is still persecuted as a livestock predator and rabies vector. Compared to other members of the genus Canis, the black-backed jackal is a very ancient species, and has changed little since the Pleistocene, being the most basal wolf-like canine, alongside the closely related side-striped jackal. It is a fox-like animal with a reddish coat and a black saddle that extends from the shoulders to the base of the tail. It is a monogamous animal, whose young may remain with the family to help raise new generations of pups. The black-backed jackal is not a fussy eater, and feeds on small to medium-sized animals, as well as plant matter and human refuse. The species is known by several different names, including saddle-backed, grey, silver-backed, red, and golden jackal (not to be confused with Canis aureus). The Latin mesomelas is a compound consisting of meso (middle) and melas (black). The black-backed jackal has occupied eastern and southern Africa for at least 2-3 million years, as shown by fossil deposits in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. Specimens from fossil sites in Transvaal are almost identical to their modern counterparts, but have slightly different nasal bones. As no fossils have been found north of Ethiopia, the species likely has always been sub-Saharan in distribution. The black-backed jackal is relatively unspecialised, and can thrive in a wide variety of habitats, including deserts, as its kidneys are well adapted for water deprivation. It is, however, more adapted to a carnivorous diet than the other jackals, as shown by its well-developed carnassial shear and the longer cutting blade of the premolars. Juliet Clutton-Brock classed the black-backed jackal as being closely related to the side-striped jackal, based on cranial and dental characters. Studies on allozyme divergence within the Canidae indicate that the black-backed jackal and other members of the genus Canis are separated by a considerable degree of genetic distance. Further studies show a large difference in mitochondrial DNA sequences between black-backed jackals and other sympatric 'jackal' species, consistent with divergence 2.3–4.5 million years ago. A mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) sequence alignment for the wolf-like canids gave a phylogenetic tree with the side-striped jackal and the black-backed jackal being the most basal members of this clade, which means that this tree is indicating an African origin for the clade. Because of this deep divergence between the black-backed jackal and the rest of the 'wolf-like' canids, one author has proposed to change the species' generic name from Canis to Lupulella.