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The dingo (''Canis lupus dingo'') is a free-ranging dog found mainly in Australia. Its exact ancestry is debated, but dingoes are generally believed to be descended from semi-domesticated dogs from East or South Asia, which returned to a wild lifestyle when introduced to Australia. It and the dog are classified as a subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' in Mammal Species of the World.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Canis lupus )〕 The Australian name has therefore sometimes been applied to similar dogs in Southeast Asia or America believed to be close relatives. As free-ranging animals, they are not considered tame, although tame dingoes and dingo-dog hybrids have been bred. The dingo's habitat ranges from deserts to grasslands and the edges of forests. Dingoes will normally make their dens in deserted rabbit holes and hollow logs close to an essential supply of water. The dingo is the largest terrestrial predator in Australia, and plays an important role as an apex predator. However, the dingo is seen as a pest by livestock farmers due to attacks on animals. Conversely, their predation on rabbits, kangaroos and rats may be of benefit to graziers. For many Australians, the dingo is a cultural icon. The dingo is seen by many as being responsible for thylacine extinction on the Australian mainland about two thousand years ago,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.dogslife.com.au/dogs_life_articles?cid=9454&pid=146591 )〕 although a recent study challenges this view.〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1890/13-0746.1 )〕 Dingoes have a prominent role in the culture of Aboriginal Australians as a feature of stories and ceremonies, and they are depicted on rock carvings and cave paintings.〔 Despite being an efficient hunter, it is listed as vulnerable to extinction. It is proposed that this is due to susceptibility to genetic pollution: a controversial concept according to which interbreeding with domestic dogs may dilute the dingo's unique adaptations to the Australian environment. ==Etymology== The most commonly used name is dingo, which has its origins in the early European colonisation in New South Wales and is most likely derived from the word ''tingo'', used by the Aboriginal people of Port Jackson for their camp dogs. Depending on where they live, local dingoes can be called "alpine dingoes," "desert dingoes," "northern dingoes," "Cape York dingoes," or "tropical dingoes". More recently, people have begun to call dingoes "Australian native dogs" or, by reasoning that they are a subspecies of ''Canis lupus'', "Australian wolves". In Australia, the term "wild dog" is also widely used, but generally includes dingoes as well as dingo-hybrids and other feral dogs. The dingo has been given different names in the Indigenous Australian languages, including ''joogong'', ''mirigung'', ''noggum'', ''boolomo'', ''papa-inura'', ''wantibirri'', ''maliki'', ''kal'', ''dwer-da'', ''kurpany'', ''aringka'', ''palangamwari'', ''repeti'' and ''warrigal''.〔 Some languages have different names for the dingoes depending on where they live; the Yarralin, for instance, call the dingoes that live with them ''walaku'' and those in the wilderness ''ngurakin''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dingo」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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