African Hunting Dog Skull

Description

African Hunting Dog Skull Replica measures 7.4 inches. African Hunting Dog Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum african huting dog skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

The African hunting dog or Lycaon pictus is a canid native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest indigenous canid in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus Lycaon. These dogs have many names such as the African Wild Dog, Cape Hunting Dog, Painted Hunting Dog, Painted Lycaon Dog and Painted Wolf.

It is distinguished from Canis by dentition highly specialized for a hyper carnivorous diet, and a lack of dewclaws. It was classified as endangered by the IUCN in 2016.

African hunting dog or Lycaon pictus is a highly social animal, living in packs with separate dominance hierarchies for males and females.

The young are allowed to feed first on carcasses. African hunting dog or Lycaon pictus is a specialized diurnal hunter of antelopes, which it catches by chasing them to exhaustion.

Like other canids, the African hunting dog or Lycaon pictus regurgitates food for its young, but this action is also extended to adults, to the point of being central to their social life.

The African hunting dog or Lycaon pictus possesses the most specialized adaptations among the canids for coat color, diet, and for pursuing its prey through its cursorial running ability.

It possesses a graceful skeleton, and the loss of the first digit on its forefeet increases its stride and speed. This adaptation allows it to pursue prey across open plains for long distances.

The teeth are generally carnassial shaped, and its premolars are the largest relative to body size of any living carnivoran except for the spotted hyena.

The African hunting dog or Lycaon exhibits one of the most varied coat colors among the mammals. Individuals differ in patterns and colors, indicating a diversity of the underlying genes.

The purpose of these coat patterns may be an adaptation for communication, concealment, or temperature regulation.

African Hunting Dog Facts:

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Subfamily: Caninae
Tribe: Canini
Genus: Lycaon
Species: L. pictus
Binomial name: Lycaon pictus
Conservation status is Endangered

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