page_title: Dingo
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Dingo / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Drawing of a wolf cranium with key anatomical parts labelled. The skull outline is from Mirvat 1890 available at:https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/19827219#page/37/mode/1up and the common anatomical terms available from doi:10.1111/evo.12059
context_page_description: The dingo is a dog found in Australia. Its taxonomic classification is debated. It is a medium-sized canine that possesses a lean, hardy body adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The dingo's three main coat colourations are light ginger or tan, black and tan, or creamy white. The skull is wedge-shaped and appears large in proportion to the body.
  The earliest known dingo fossil, found in Western Australia, dates to 3,450 years ago, which led to the presumption that dingoes came to Australia with seafarers prior to that time, possibly from south-west Sulawesi in modern-day Indonesia. Dingo morphology has not changed over the past 3,500 years: this suggests that no artificial selection has been applied over this period.
  The dingo is closely related to the New Guinea singing dog: their lineage split early from the lineage that led to today's domestic dogs, and can be traced back through the Malay Archipelago to Asia.
caption: Key features of a wolf skull and dentition
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