Abstract
The occurrence of black-coated individuals in wolfCanis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 populations is not surprising itself, but their presence in populations recovering from a severe numerical decline has been considered a possible sign of crossbreeding with the domestic dog. In the northern Apennines (Italy), black wolves occur at a non-negligible frequency. In a 3300 km2 area, 22% of wolves observed and 23% of all dead wolves found were represented by animals with a completely black coat. One ‘black’ wolf belonging to the studied population was analysed by a set of microsatellite loci, and no trace of hybridization was found in its ancestry. This result induced us to consider the occurrence of a black phenotype in this area possibly derived from a natural combination of wolf alleles in coat colour determining genes, and not necessarily as the result of crossbreeding with the domestic form.
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Associate Editor was Krzysztof Schmidt.
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Apollonio, M., Mattioli, L. & Scandura, M. Occurrence of black wolves in the Northern Apennines, Italy. Acta Theriol 49, 281–285 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192528
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192528
