In the savannas and steppes of central South America, graceful predators live, which the locals call "guara" or "aguara guazu", which means "big fox". But in reality it is a wolf.
The maned wolf (Latin Chrysocyon brachyurus - "short-tailed golden dog") is the owner of a unique appearance. He really looks like a large fox: red fur, a thin, graceful muzzle. But it is distinguished from a fox by long slender legs, much longer than those of other canines. At the withers, this animal reaches 87 cm, and weighs 23 kg.
The peculiarity of the bodily constitution helps him to hunt in the tall grass that grows in the wolf's habitat.
The species is under the threat of extinction, its representatives come across people very rarely, because, firstly, they do not hunt people, and secondly, they feed on what the wild nature has presented.
Only in extreme cases can a maned wolf drag a lamb from a farm or some noisy poultry.
The black maned wolf is considered even more unique. One such specimen was caught by trap cameras tied to trees in a Brazilian village.
An article published in the journal Canid Biology & Conservation explains that this maned wolf is most likely a melanist. That is, the owner of a phenotype variant in which the color becomes much darker than that of other representatives of the species.
Although melanism occurs most often in felines, it can also be found in reptiles, insects, as well as canines, mustelids, and civerers. The study notes that this is the first time such a phenomenon has been recorded among Brazilian canines.
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The traps set in the village of Varedash-do-Akari provided the zoologist with 25 images of maned wolves. A black wolf was seen in five photographs.
This is the first evidence of melanism among maned wolves, the researchers note. However, why exactly did this wolf turn black? Most canine melanists belong to the Canis genus, which includes wolves, coyotes, and domestic dogs.
The maned wolf is melanistic.
Blackening has spread among coyotes and wolves through crossbreeding with domestic dogs over the past 50,000 years, much later than the branch of the maned wolf. Given that there are no known hybrids between coyotes, wolves and maned wolves, the mutation of the latter arose independently and developed from the preservation of black, puppy, color in adulthood.
A red maned wolf is difficult to spot in the grass, especially at dusk - the optimal time of day for hunting. Surely the black maned wolf has advantages when hunting at night.
Elena Yakovleva