African Hunting Dog Skull

Description

African Hunting Dog Skull measures 7.4 inches. African Hunting Dog Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in the USA. Lycaon pictus is the scientific name. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home decor skull, or office decor 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, which 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 colours 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.

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Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Genus: Lycaon

Family: Canidae

Species: Pictus

Additional information