Coyote

Coyote
Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene – present (0.74–0.85 Ma)[1]
Mountain coyote (C. l. lestes) at Yosemite National Park, California
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species:
C. latrans
Binomial name
Canis latrans
Say, 1823[3]
Modern range of Canis latrans
Synonyms[4]
List
    • Canis andersoni Merriam, 1910
    • Canis caneloensis Skinner, 1942
    • Canis clepticus Eliot, 1903
    • Canis estor Merriam, 1897
    • Canis frustror Woodhouse, 1851
    • Canis goldmani Merriam, 1904
    • Canis hondurensis Goldman, 1936
    • Canis impavidus Allen, 1903
    • Canis irvingtonensis Savage, 1951
    • Canis jamesi Townsend, 1912
    • Canis lestes Merriam, 1897
    • Canis mearnsi Merriam, 1897
    • Canis microdon Merriam, 1897
    • Canis nebrascensis Merriam, 1898
    • Canis ochropus Eschscholtz, 1829
    • Canis orcutti Merriam, 1910
    • Canis pallidus Merriam, 1897
    • Canis peninsulae Merriam, 1897
    • Canis riviveronis Hay, 1917
    • Canis vigilis Merriam, 1897
    • Lyciscus cagottis Hamilton-Smith, 1839

The coyote (Canis latrans) is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological niche as the golden jackal does in Eurasia. The coyote is larger and was once referred to as the American jackal by a behavioral ecologist. Other historical names for the species include the prairie wolf and the brush wolf.

The coyote is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, due to its wide distribution and abundance throughout North America. The species is versatile, able to adapt to and expand into environments modified by humans; urban coyotes are common in many cities. The coyote was sighted in eastern Panama (across the Panama Canal from their home range) for the first time in 2013.

The coyote has 19 recognized subspecies. The average male weighs 8 to 20 kg (18 to 44 lb) and the average female 7 to 18 kg (15 to 40 lb). Their fur color is predominantly light gray and red or fulvous interspersed with black and white, though it varies somewhat with geography. It is highly flexible in social organization, living either in a family unit or in loosely knit packs of unrelated individuals. Primarily carnivorous, its diet consists mainly of deer, rabbits, hares, rodents, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates, though it may also eat fruits and vegetables on occasion. Its characteristic vocalization is a howl made by solitary individuals. Humans are the coyote's greatest threat, followed by cougars and gray wolves. Despite predation by gray wolves, coyotes sometimes mate with them, and with eastern, or red wolves, producing "coywolf" hybrids. In the northeastern regions of North America, the eastern coyote (a larger subspecies, though still smaller than wolves) is the result of various historical and recent matings with various types of wolves. Genetic studies show that most North American wolves contain some level of coyote DNA.

The coyote is a prominent character in Native American folklore, mainly in Aridoamerica, usually depicted as a trickster that alternately assumes the form of an actual coyote or a man. As with other trickster figures, the coyote uses deception and humor to rebel against social conventions. The animal was especially respected in Mesoamerican cosmology as a symbol of military might. After the European colonization of the Americas, it was seen in Anglo-American culture as a cowardly and untrustworthy animal. Unlike wolves, which have seen their public image improve, attitudes towards the coyote remain largely negative.[5]

  1. ^ Tedford, Wang & Taylor 2009, p. 131.
  2. ^ Kays, R. (2020) [errata version of 2018 assessment]. "Canis latrans". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T3745A163508579. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T3745A163508579.en. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference say1823 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Canis latrans". Fossilworks.org. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference conundrum was invoked but never defined (see the help page).