Ancient Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) lineage in Upper Mustang of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal
Chetri, Madhu; Jhala, Yadvendradev; Jnawali, Shant R; Subedi, Naresh; Dhakal, Maheshwar; Yumnam, Bibek
Original version
Chetri M, Jhala YV, Jnawali SR, Subedi N, Dhakal M, Yumnam B (2016) Ancient Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco) lineage in Upper Mustang of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. ZooKeys 582: 143–156. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.582.5966 10.3897/zookeys.582.5966Abstract
The taxonomic status of the wolf (Canis lupus) in Nepal’s Trans-Himalaya is poorly understood. Recent
genetic studies have revealed the existence of three lineages of wolves in the Indian sub-continent. Of
these, the Himalayan wolf, Canis lupus chanco, has been reported to be the most ancient lineage historically
distributed within the Nepal Himalaya. These wolves residing in the Trans-Himalayan region have
been suggested to be smaller and very different from the European wolf. During October 2011, six fecal
samples suspected to have originated from wolves were collected from Upper Mustang in the Annapurna
Conservation Area of Nepal. DNA extraction and amplification of the mitochondrial (mt) control region
(CR) locus yielded sequences from five out of six samples. One sample matched domestic dog sequences
in GenBank, while the remaining four samples were aligned within the monophyletic and ancient Himalayan
wolf clade. These four sequences which matched each other, were new and represented a novel
Himalayan wolf haplotype. This result confirms that the endangered ancient Himalayan wolf is extant in
Nepal. Detailed genomic study covering Nepal’s entire Himalayan landscape is recommended in order
to understand their distribution, taxonomy and, genetic relatedness with other wolves potentially sharing
the same landscape.