short-eared dog

The short-eared dog has many names in the local languages where it is endemic, including {{lang|pt|cachorro-do-mato-de-orelha-curta}} in Portuguese, {{lang|es|zorro de oreja corta}} ("short-ear fox") in Spanish, {{lang|cax|nomensarixi}} in Chiquitano, {{lang|ycn|uálaca}} in Yucuna, {{lang|gyr|cuachi yaguar}} in Guarayu, {{lang|mos|quinamco}} in Mooré, and achuj in Ninam and Mosetén.{{Cite book |last1=Renata Leite Pitman |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314207179 |title=Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |last2=Robert S.R. Williams |publisher=IUCN, World Conservation Union |year=2004 |isbn=9782831707860 |editor-last=Claudio Sillero-Zubiri |edition=2004 |pages=26–31 |chapter=The short eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) (Sclater, 1883) |editor-last2=Michael Hoffmann |editor-last3=David W. Macdonald |chapter-url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256474782}}

Other common names in Spanish include {{lang|es|zorro ojizarco}} ("blue-eyed fox"), {{lang|es|zorro sabanero}} ("savannah fox"), and {{lang|es|zorro negro}} ("black fox").{{cn|date=April 2025}}

File:Atelocynus microtis en amazonie péruvienne.jpg

In 2022, a study sequenced the genomes of the living members of the subtribe Cerdocyonina, which indicates that they commenced diversifying from a common ancestor between 3.9—3.5 million years ago. This finding is consistent with the ancestor arriving in South America from Central America through the Isthmus of Panama and then entering into eastern South America. The subtribe then expanded to occupy the entire continent.

After the formation of the Isthmus of Panama in the latter part the Tertiary (about 2.5 million years ago in the Pliocene), canids migrated from North America to the southern continent as part of the Great American Interchange. The short-eared dog's ancestors adapted to life in tropical rainforests, developing the requisite morphological and anatomical features. Although it has a superficial resemblance to the bush dog, the short-eared dog's closest living relative is the crab-eating fox.{{cite journal |last1=Chavez |first1=D.E. |last2=Gronau |first2=I. |last3=Hains |first3=T. |last4=Dikow |first4=R.B. |last5=Frandsen |first5=P.B. |last6=Figueiró |first6=H.V. |last7=Garcez |first7=F.S. |last8=Tchaicka |first8=L. |last9=de Paula |first9=R.C. |last10=Rodrigues |first10=F.H.G. |last11=Jorge |first11=R.S.P. |last12=Lima |first12=E.S. |last13=Songsasen |first13=N. |last14=Johnson |first14=W.E. |last15=Eizirik |first15=E. |last16=Koepfli |first16=K.P. |last17=Wayne |first17=R.K. |title=Comparative genomics uncovers the evolutionary history, demography, and molecular adaptations of South American canids |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |date=2022 |volume=119 |issue=34 |pages=e2205986119 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2205986119 |doi-access=free |pmid=35969758 |pmc=9407222 |bibcode=2022PNAS..11905986C }} It is one of the most unusual canids.

Two subspecies of this canid are recognized, {{nobr|A. m. microtis}} and {{nobr|A. m. sclateri.}}

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File:Manu riverbank.jpg, Madre de Dios, Peru]]

The short-eared dog can be found in the Amazon rainforest region of South America (in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and possibly Venezuela). There is a single report of "three slender, doglike animals" of this species sighted in the Darien region of Panama in 1984 by German biologist Sigi Weisel and a native Embera-nation Panamanian; this rare species' presence in Panama is possible because of "the continuous mass of forest habitat that covers this region". It lives in various parts of the rainforest environment, preferring areas with little human disturbance. It lives in both lowland forests known as Floresta Amazônica and terra firme forest, as well as in swamp forest, stands of bamboo, and cloud forest.{{cite web |title=Atelocynus microtis (Short-eared Dog, Short-eared Fox, Small-eared Dog, Small-eared Zorro) |website=redlist.org |url=http://www.redlist.org/apps/redlist/details/6924/0 |access-date=2015-10-05}} It is a solitary animal and prefers to remain under tree-cover, avoiding both human and other animal interaction.{{cite news |last=Giaimo |first=Cara |date=2020-05-04 |df=dmy-all |title=The ghost dogs of the Amazon get a bit less mysterious |newspaper=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/science/ghost-dog-amazon-rainforest.html |access-date=2020-05-13 |lang=en-US }}

File:Atelocynus mecrotis (Small eared fox) fur skin.jpg, Frankfurt/Main, Germany]]

File:Shortdogskull.jpg

The short-eared dog has short and slender limbs with short and rounded ears. It has a distinctive fox-like muzzle and bushy tail. Its paws are partly webbed, helping adapt it to its partly aquatic habitat.{{cite web |title=Atelocynus microtis: Information |website=ADW: Animal Diversity (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu) |publisher=University of Michigan |url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Atelocynus_microtis.html |access-date=2015-10-05}}

Its fur ranges from dark to reddish-grey, but can also be nearly navy blue, coffee brown, dark grey, or chestnut-grey to black, and the coat is short, with thick and bristly fur. It has a somewhat narrow chest, with dark color variation on the thorax merging to brighter, more reddish tones on the abdominal side of the body.

This wild dog is mainly a carnivore, with fish, insects, and small mammals making up the majority of its diet. An investigation led in the Cocha Cashu Biological Station in Peru into the proportions of different kinds of food in this animal's diet produced the following results:

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This species has some unique behaviors not typical to other canids. Females of this species are about one-third larger than males. The excited male sprays a musk produced by the tail glands. It prefers a solitary lifestyle, in forest areas. It avoids humans in its natural environment. Agitated males raise the hairs on their backs.{{cite web |title=Ecology and conservation of the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis) |publisher=Estación Biológica Cocha Cashu [Cocha Cashu Biological Station] |place=Peru |via=Duke University (duke.edu) |url=http://www.duke.edu/~manu/Projects/atelocynus.htm |url-status=dead |access-date=2024-07-10 |df=dmy-all |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016063232/http://www.duke.edu/~manu/Projects/atelocynus.htm |archive-date=2012-10-16 }}

The lifespan and gestation period of the short-eared dog are unknown, although sexual maturity is reached at three years of age, relatively late compared to other canid species.{{cite web |title=Short-eared dog? Uncovering the secrets of one of the Amazon's most mysterious mammals |date=2014-07-28 |df=dmy-all |website=Mongabay Environmental News |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2014/07/short-eared-dog-uncovering-the-secrets-of-one-of-the-amazons-most-mysterious-mammals/ |access-date=2020-07-25 |lang=en-US}}

Feral dogs pose a prominent threat to the population of short-eared dogs, as they facilitate the spread of diseases, such as canine distemper and rabies, to the wild population. The short eared dog suffers greatly from loss of habitat. There is a significant amount of disturbance in formerly remote South American forests, and almost no habitat except where daily human settler and prospector traffic destroys or exposes their dens. Humans also contribute to their extermination by degradation of the species' natural habitat and the general destruction of tropical rainforests.

The short-eared dog is currently considered near threatened by the IUCN. No comprehensive ecological and genetic research has been carried out on the species.

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• {{cite book |last=Alderton |first=David |year=1998 |title=Foxes, Wolves and Wild Dogs of the World |publisher=Blandford Press |place=UK }}
• {{cite book |last=Nowak |first=Ronald |year=2005 |title=Walker's Carnivores of the World |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |place=Baltimore, MD }}

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• [http://www.canids.org/species/Atelocynus_microtus.htm IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group: Small Eared Zorro]
• [http://www.procarnivoros.org.br/animais_cac_curta.htm Pro-carnivoros]
• [http://www.wildcru.org/aboutus/news/shorteareddog.htm Ecology and conservation of the short-eared dog by WildCru]
• [http://web.mac.com/renata_leite/iWeb/Atelocynus_microtis Studies with a tame short-eared dog by Maria Renata Leite]
• [http://web.mac.com/renata_leite/Atelocynus_microtis/Home.html Atelocynus microtis Research and Conservation by M. R. Pitman Leite]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090205012126/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/photogalleries/jaguar-short-eared-dog-pictures/photo3.html PHOTOS: Short-Eared Dog Caught in Camera Trap]
• {{YouTube|id=ihvTc1dJRgo|title=Short-eared Dog video by Wink Gross}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20160517091025/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/160511-rare-amazon-short-ear-dog-vin Short haired Dog Video 25 May 2014 National Geographic]

{{Carnivora|Ca.}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q331850}}

Category:Cerdocyonina

Category:Fauna of the Amazon

Category:Carnivorans of Brazil

Category:Mammals of Bolivia

Category:Mammals of Colombia

Category:Mammals of Ecuador

Category:Mammals of Peru

Category:Near threatened biota of South America

Category:Mammals described in 1883

Category:Taxa named by Philip Sclater