Editing Dingo (section)

==Description==
[[File:Dingo (Canis lupus dingo) skeleton at the Royal Veterinary College anatomy museum.JPG|thumb|Skeleton]]

The dingo is a medium-sized canid with a lean, hardy body that is adapted for speed, agility, and stamina. The head is the widest part of the body, wedge-shaped, and large in proportion to the body.<ref name=smithC1/> Captive dingoes are longer and heavier than wild dingoes, as they have access to better food and veterinary care. The average wild dingo male weighs {{convert|15.8|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|14.1|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, compared with the captive male {{convert|18.9|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|16.2|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. The average wild dingo male length is {{convert|125|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|122|cm|in|abbr=on}}, compared with the captive male {{convert|136|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|133|cm|in|abbr=on}}. The average wild dingo male stands at the shoulder height of {{convert|59|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|56|cm|in|abbr=on}}, compared with the captive male {{convert|56|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the female {{convert|53|cm|in|abbr=on}}. Dingoes rarely carry excess fat and the wild ones display exposed ribs.<ref name=smithC1/> Dingoes from northern and northwestern Australia are often larger than those found in central and southern Australia.<ref name=corbett2004/><ref name=smithC1/> The dingo is similar to the New Guinea singing dog in morphology apart from the dingo's greater height at the [[withers]].<ref name=crowther2014/> The average dingo can reach speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facts |url=https://www.dingoden.net/facts.html |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=Dingo Den Animal Rescue |language=en |archive-date=7 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207004021/https://www.dingoden.net/facts.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Compared with the dog, the dingo is able to rotate its wrists and can turn doorknobs or raise latches in order to escape confinement. Dingo shoulder joints are unusually flexible, and they can climb fences, cliffs, trees, and rocks. These adaptations help dingoes climbing in difficult terrain, where they prefer high vantage points. A similar adaptation can be found in the [[Norwegian Lundehund]], which was developed on isolated Norwegian islands to hunt in cliff and rocky areas. Wolves do not have this ability.<ref name=Shipman2020/>

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|image1=Dingoskull.jpg
|caption1=Sketching of a dingo skull by [[Frédéric Cuvier]]

|image2=Wolf cranium labelled.jpg
|caption2=Key features of a wolf skull and dentition

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Compared with the skull of the dog, the dingo possesses a longer [[Snout|muzzle]], longer [[carnassial]] teeth, longer and more slender [[canine teeth]], larger [[auditory bullae]], a flatter [[cranium]] with a larger [[sagittal crest]], and larger [[nuchal lines]].<ref name=smithC1/> In 2014, a study was conducted on pre-20th century dingo specimens that are unlikely to have been influenced by later hybridisation. The dingo skull was found to differ relative to the domestic dog by its larger [[palate|palatal]] width, longer [[rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]], shorter skull height, and wider sagittal crest.<ref name=crowther2014/> However, this was rebutted with the figures falling within the wider range of the domestic dog<ref name=jackson2017/><ref name=Jackson2019/> and that each dog breed differs from the others in skull measurements.<ref name=Jackson2019/> Based on a comparison with the remains of a dingo found at Fromme's Landing, the dingo's skull and skeleton have not changed over the past 3,000 years.<ref name=smithC1/> Compared to the wolf, the dingo possesses a [[paedomorphic]] [[cranium]] similar to domestic dogs. However, the dingo has a larger brain size compared to dogs of the same body weight, with the dingo being more comparable with the wolf than dogs are. In this respect, the dingo resembles two similar [[mesopredators]], the dhole and the coyote.<ref name=smith2017b/> The eyes are triangular (or almond-shaped) and are hazel to dark in colour with dark rims. The ears are [[Erect (position)|erect]] and occur high on the skull.<ref name=smithC1/>

===Coat colour===
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|image1=Dingo walking - DPLA - 026a12b934a17352c2cba61e68a3a3c3.jpg
|caption1=Creamy white dingo

|image2=Dingo of Fraser Island-20170215-092336.jpg
|caption2=Tan or light ginger dingo

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The dingo's three main coat colours are described as being light ginger (or tan), black and tan, and creamy white.<ref name=smithC1/><ref name=purcellC3/> The ginger colour ranges from a deep rust to a pale cream and can be found in 74% of dingoes. Often, small white markings are seen on the tip of the tail, the feet, and the chest, but with no large white patches. Some do not exhibit white tips. The black and tan dingoes possess a black coat with a tan muzzle, chest, belly, legs, and feet and can be found in 12% of dingoes. Solid white can be found in 2% of dingoes and solid black 1%. 

Only three genes affect coat colour in the dingo compared with nine genes in the domestic dog. The ginger colour is dominant and carries the other three main colours – black, tan, and white. White dingoes breed true, and black and tan dingoes breed true; when these cross, the result is a sandy colour.<ref name=smithC1/><ref name=cairns2011/> The coat is not oily, nor does it have a dog-like odour. The dingo has a single coat in the tropical north of Australia and a double thick coat in the cold mountains of the south, the undercoat being a wolf-grey colour.<ref name=smithC1/> Patchy and brindle coat colours can be found in dingoes with no dog ancestry and these colours are less common in dingoes of mixed ancestry.<ref name=Cairns2021/>

===Tail===
The dingo's tail is flattish, tapering after mid-length and does not curve over the back, but is carried low.<ref name=smithC1/>

===Gait===
When walking, the dingo's rear foot steps in line with the front foot,<ref name=smithC1/> and these do not possess [[dewclaws]].<ref name=corbett2004/>

===Lifespan===
Dingoes in the wild live 3–5 years with few living past 7–8 years. Some have been recorded living up to 10 years. In captivity, they live for 14–16 years.<ref name=jackson2003/> One dingo has been recorded to live just under 20 years.<ref name=smithC11/>