Pet Byte 2: Do you know which canine species produced all of today's dogs?
Recent evidence proves that dogs are descended from the gray wolf (Canis lupus), domesticated about 130,000 years ago. But if they all share a common ancestor, why do toy poodles, German Shepherds, French Bulldogs, Dachshunds, and Great Danes appear to have little in common?
We can thank the dog's best friends—humans. Decades of selective breeding by humans have resulted in the synthetic evolution of dogs into many different types or breeds. And, while there's only one species of dog—Canis lupus familiaris—a domesticated subspecies of the gray wolf; there are over 400 recognized dog breeds, each with distinct traits like body size, fur type, and coat color. These breeds have naturally and synthetically evolved over thousands of years due to human interaction and artificial selection.