Common jackal | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Canidae |
Genus: | Canis |
Species: | C. aureus |
Subspecies: | C. a. aureus |
Trinomial name | |
Canis aureus aureus Linnaeus, 1758 |
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C. a. aureus range (red) | |
Synonyms | |
balcanicus (Brusina, 1892) |
balcanicus (Brusina, 1892)
caucasica (Kolenati, 1858)
dalmatinus (Wagner, 1841)
hadramauticus (Noack, 1896)
hungaricus (Ehik, 1938)
kola (Wroughton, 1916)
lanka (Wroughton, 1916)
maroccanus (Cabrera, 1921)
typicus (Kolenati, 1858)
vulgaris (Wagner, 1841)
The common jackal (Canis aureus aureus), also known as the Persian or Turkestan jackal is a subspecies of golden jackal native to Middle Asia, Afghanistan, northwestern India (Kutch, Sindh and Gujarat), Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, and the Arabian Peninsula. It is a large subspecies with soft, pale fur with predominantly sandy tones.
The general colour of the outer fur is usually black and white, while the underfur varies from pale brown to pale slate-grey. Occasionally, the nape and shoulders are of a buff colour. The ears and front legs are buff, sometimes tan, while the feet are pale. The hind legs are more deeply tinted above the hocks. The chin and forethroat are usually whitish. Weight varies geographically, ranging around 18-22 lbs. In areas where it borders the range of the larger, more richly coloured Indian jackal (particularly in Kumaun), animals of intermediate size and colour sometimes appear. The Persian jackals of Elburz are renowned for the softness of their pelts, which are usually coarse in other geographic variants of the species.