Cuon alpinus Skull Replica measures 7.4 inches. Cuon alpinus Male Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Cast from original specimen. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home decor skull, or office decor skull.
The Dhole or Cuon alpinus typically weighs 26 to 44 pounds and measures 35 inches in body length and 20 inches shoulder height. The tail measures 16 to 18 inches in length. The Dhole has a broad, domed skull and a short, broad muzzle.
The bones of the forehead and upper jaw are swollen, producing a dish-faced profile. The hooded eyes have amber or light brown irises, and the ears are large and rounded.
It’s skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third lower molar and the upper molars sport only a single cusp as opposed to between two and four.
During the Pleistocene, the dhole ranged throughout Asia, Europe and North America but became restricted to its historical range 12,000–18,000 years ago.
The Cuon alpinus is a highly social animal, living in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies and containing multiple breeding females.
Such clans usually consist of about 12 individuals, but groups of over 40 are known. It is a diurnal pack hunter which preferentially targets large and medium-sized ungulates.
In tropical forests, the Dhole or Cuon alpinus competes with the tiger and the leopard, targeting somewhat different prey species, but still with substantial dietary overlap.
It is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as populations are decreasing and estimated to comprise fewer than 2,500 mature individuals.
Factors contributing to this decline include habitat loss, loss of prey, competition with other species, persecution due to livestock predation, and disease transfer from domestic dogs.
