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The dhole (''Cuon alpinus'') is a canid native to Central, South and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog,〔 whistling dog, red wolf〔Heptner, V. G. & Naumov, N. P. (1998). ''(Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears) )'', Science Publishers, Inc. USA., pp. 566–86, ISBN 1-886106-81-9〕 (not to be confused with ''Canis rufus''), red dog,〔Cohen, J. A. (1978). ''(Cuon alpinus )''. ''Mammalian Species'' 100: 1–3.〕 and mountain wolf.〔 It is genetically close to species within the genus ''Canis'', though its skull is convex rather than concave in profile, it lacks a third lower molar, and the upper molars sport only a single cusp as opposed to 2–4.〔 During the Pleistocene, the dhole ranged throughout Asia, Europe and North America, but became restricted to its historical range 12,000–18,000 years ago. The dhole is a highly social animal, living in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies〔 and containing multiple breeding females.〔 Such clans usually consist of 12 individuals, but groups of over 40 are known.〔 It is a diurnal pack hunter which preferentially targets medium and large sized ungulates.〔Durbin, L.S., Venkataraman, A., Hedges, S. & Duckworth, W. (2004). (Dhole ''Cuon alpinus'' (Pallas 1811) ), in Sillero-Zubiri, C., Hoffmann, M. & Macdonald, D.W. (eds.) ''Canids: Foxes, Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., Jackals and Dogs: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan''. IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. x + pp. 210–219〕 In tropical forests, the dhole competes with tigers and leopards, targeting somewhat different prey species, but still with substantial dietary overlap.〔 It is listed as Endangered by the IUCN, as populations are decreasing and estimated at less than 2,500 adults. Factors contributing to this decline include habitat loss, loss of prey, competition with other species, persecution, and disease transfer from domestic dogs.〔 ==Etymology and naming== The etymology of ''dhole'' is unclear. The earliest possible written use of the word in English occurred in 1808 by soldier Thomas Williamson, who encountered the animal in Ramghur district. He stated that dhole was a common local name for the species. In 1827, Charles Hamilton Smith claimed that it was derived from a language spoken in 'various parts of the East'. Two years later, Smith connected this word with (トルコ語:deli) ‘mad, crazy’, and erroneously compared the Turkish word with and (オランダ語:dol) (cfr. also (英語:dull); (ドイツ語:toll)), which are in fact from the Proto-Germanic *''dwalaz'' ‘foolish, stupid’. Richard Lydekker wrote nearly 80 years later that the word was not used by the natives living within the species' range. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary theorises that it may have come from the (カンナダ語:''tōḷa'') (‘wolf’).〔(dhole ). Merriam-Webster Dictionary.〕 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「Dhole」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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