D is for
Dog
African Painted Dogs,
Lycaon pictus is the name but it stands apart from the wolf or our dogs
"
From a scientific standpoint, they are all in the same family known as Canidae. Within this, there are two relevant branches (or genus) to look at here – Canis and Lycaon. So is Lycaon a dog or a wolf? Well in fact it is neither, although one could just about say it is closer to a wolf than a dog. This is because all of our domestic dogs are descendants of the Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus), including our great dane and beloved chihuahua.
From a scientific standpoint, they are all in the same family known as Canidae. Within this,
there are two relevant branches (or genus) to look at here – Canis and Lycaon.In the genus Canis (which means dog in Latin) exist the wolves and their descendants – our domestic dogs. Canis also includes the coyote (Canis latrans), dingo (Canis lupos dingo), and the highly endangered Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis). And while phylogenetically different, Canis includes all jackals (Canis adustus, aureus and mesomelas).
Meanwhile, our Lycaon pictus is alone in its own genus called… Lycaon. The species is only very distantly related to a wolf or a dog and there is no chance that you could interbreed a Lycaon and a Canis. "
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https://africageographic.com/blog/whats-name-dogs-wolves-painted-wild/ 
Originally posted by Merv-O 
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