The African golden wolf (Canis anthus), also known as the African wolf or thoa, is a canid native to north and northeastern Africa. The species is common in north-west and north-east Africa, occurring from Senegal to Egypt in the east, in a range including Morocco, Algeria, and Libya in the north to Nigeria, Chad and Tanzania in the south. It is a desert-adapted canid, and is common in plains and steppe areas, including ones lacking abundant water. In the Atlas Mountains, the species has been sighted in elevations as high as 1,800 metres. It is primarily a predator, targeting invertebrates and mammals as large as gazelle fawns, though larger animals are sometimes taken. Other foodstuffs include animal carcasses, human refuse, and fruit. The African wolf is a monogamous and territorial animal, whose social structure includes yearling offspring remaining with the family to assist in raising their parents' younger pups.
It was previously classified as an African variant of the Eurasian golden jackal, with at least one subspecies (Canis anthus lupaster) having been classified as a grey wolf. In 2015, a series of analyses on the species' mitochondrial DNA and nuclear genome demonstrated that it was in fact distinct from both the golden jackal and the grey wolf, and more closely related to grey wolves and coyotes. It is nonetheless still close enough to the golden jackal to produce hybrid offspring, as indicated through genetic tests on jackals in Israel and a 19th-century captive crossbreeding experiment. As the IUCN's golden jackal page has not been updated since 2008, it has yet to recognise the distinctiveness of the African wolf; thus its conservation status has not been evaluated, and no reliable population estimates are available.
The pipits are a cosmopolitan genus, Anthus, of small passerine birds with medium to long tails. Along with the wagtails and longclaws, the pipits make up the family Motacillidae. The genus is widespread, occurring across most of the world, except the driest deserts, rainforests and the mainland of Antarctica.
They are slender, often drab, ground-feeding insectivores of open country. Like their relatives in the family, the pipits are monogamous and territorial. Pipits are ground nesters, laying up to six speckled eggs.
The genus has more than forty species, making it the largest genus in terms of numbers in its family. The exact species limits of the genus are still a matter of some debate, with some checklists recognising only 34 species. For example, the Australasian pipit, Anthus novaeseelandiae, which is currently treated as nine subspecies found in New Zealand, Australia and New Guinea, once also included the Richard's pipit and paddyfield pipit of Asia, and the African pipit of Africa. In addition it has been suggested that the Australian and New Zealand populations be split, or even that New Zealand's subspecies found on its outlying Subantarctic Islands be split from the mainland species. In part the taxonomic difficulties arise due to the extreme similarities in appearance across the genus. Two species have been identified comparatively recently in South Africa, the long-tailed pipit in 1996 and the Kimberley pipit in 2002.
The Senegalese wolf (Canis anthus anthus), also known as the grey jackal,slender jackal or Anthus, is the nominate subspecies of the African golden wolf native to Senegal.
It is at least an inch (2.54 centimeters) higher at the shoulder, and several inches longer than the Egyptian wolf; adult Senegalese golden wolves are about 15 inches (38.1 cm) high on the midsection and 14 inches (35.56 cm) in length from tail to occiput. The ears are longer, and the head is more dog-like than that of the Egyptian wolf and measures 7 inches (17.78 cm) in length. The tail is not as hairy, and is shorter, being 10 inches (25.4 cm) long.
The nose and forehead are greyish-buff, while the throat and under parts are white. It lacks the black ring round the neck, nor the stippled arrangement of black points on the back characteristic of the Egyptian wolf. The flanks and back are of a deep grey colour, grizzled with yellow. The neck is greyish-fawn, with grey predominating especially on the cheeks and below the ears. The upper muzzle, limbs, the back of the ears and tail are of a pure fawn colour, while the rest of the body is whitish.
In Greek mythology, the name Anthus (Ἄνθος "flower") may refer to: