The Falkland Islands wolf, Dusicyon australis, also known as the warrah, was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands and became extinct in 1876. It was the type species of the genus Dusicyon and a tawny canid with a white tail tip, found on both West and East Falkland. Its closest known relative was the mainland Dusicyon avus, from which it diverged only about 16,000 years ago, while DNA studies link it most closely to the living maned wolf. Without native rodents on the islands it probably lived on seashore scavenging, ground-nesting birds, seal pups and insects. Charles Darwin found it tame and predicted its disappearance. Settlers hunted it for its fur and poisoned it as a threat to sheep, and only about a dozen museum specimens survive.
Facts
Classification
ThreatsBiological Resource Use 2 Relationship to People Living or Extinct Conservation Status Body Size Band Activity Pattern Comparison
CITES Appendix Connections
Sources
1. Ecological Archives E095-178 (Wilman et al. 2014): EltonTraits 1.0 mammal diet data
Ecological Archives E095-178 (Wilman et al. 2014)MamFuncDat.txt row Dusicyon australis, BodyMass-Value (grams)
Dusicyon australis Canidae 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ref_1 ABC G A 1 0 0 Ref_3 D2 50003.45
MamFuncDat.txt row Dusicyon australis, Activity-Nocturnal
Dusicyon australis Canidae 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ref_1 ABC G A 1 0 0 Ref_3 D2 50003.45
MamFuncDat.txt row Dusicyon australis, Diet-Inv through Diet-PlantO
Dusicyon australis Canidae 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Ref_1 ABC G A 1 0 0 Ref_3 D2 50003.45
View the Source 2. Falkland Islands wolf (Wikipedia)
Lead, extinct
This endemic canid became extinct in 1876.
History, hunting
The Falkland Islands wolf was hunted for its valuable fur and settlers who regarded the wolf as a threat to their sheep poisoned it.
Child Taxon Of: Dusicyon, Lead, genus
The Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis), also known as the warrah or the Falkland Islands fox, was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands.
In Group: Dogs And Wild Canids, Lead, canid
The Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis), also known as the warrah or the Falkland Islands fox, was the only native land mammal of the Falkland Islands.
View the Source3. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Dusicyon australis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status: CITESQuote, Conservation Status: CITES
No special status
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