Maned Wolf - Definition


Maned Wolf - Definition

Maned Wolf
Conservation status: Lower Risk

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	Chrysocyon
Species:	C. brachyurus

Binomial name

Chrysocyon brachyurus
(Illiger, 1815)

The Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is the largest canid of South America. It is almost 1 m tall at the shoulder, and weights 20–25 kg. Its fur is reddish brown on the sides, black on the back and legs, with witish tufts at the tip of the tail. The distribution includes southern Brazil (where it is called lobo-guar� or Red Wolf) and Paraguay, and Bolivia East of the Andes. It is an endangered species, and its range once included Uruguay and northern Argentina, althogh IUCN lists it as "lower risk". It is the only species in the genus Chrysocyon.

Unlike other large canids (Wolves, African Hunting Dogs, Dholes) the Maned Wolf does not go in packs and does not hunt for large animals. It is a shy animal and rarely attacks man. A couple shares a territory, but only in the breeding season they are really caring for each other; gestation lasts 67 days, and a litter may have up to 6 pups.

At night Maned Wolves search for rodents, hares and birds. Fruits are a large fraction of their diet, and indeed they must eat regularly fruit from the wild tomato-like plant Solanum lycocarpum (Wolf Apple, Wolf Fruit, or Lobeira ), otherwise they die of renal nematode infections. In turn the Maned Wolf is a major seed disperser for the plant, a symbiotic relationship that also involves certain leaf-cutting ant species (O. Courtenay, 1994; [1] (http://www.canids.org/PUBLICAT/CNDNEWS2/manedwf2.htm)).

According to new examinations the Maned Wolf is not closely related to any other canid. It is apparently a survivor of the Pleistocene fauna of large South American mammals.

See also