Scientists discover first new canine species in Africa in 150 years

African golden wolf
(Image credit: Twitter/Discovery)

For years, scientists thought Africa's golden jackals to be the same as Eurasian golden jackals. Only one problem: the African ones turned out to not be jackals at all, The Huffington Post reports.

In a new DNA study published Thursday in Current Biology, researchers concluded that what they thought were jackals are actually African golden wolves, the first new species of canine found in Africa in 150 years, according to The Guardian.

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Consider the two species distant cousins.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.