Domestication of the Dog and Cat

Dog Order

Carnivora

Dog Suborder

Caniformiae

Dog Family

Canidae

Dog Genus

Canis

Dog Species

lupus familiaris

Cat Order

Carnivora

Cat Suborder

Feliformiae

Cat Family

Felidae

Cat Subfamily

Felinae and Pantherinae

Cat Genus

Felis

Cat Species

catus

When were dogs domesticated?

Dogs were the first domesticated animals, and were domesticated roughly 14,000 years ago

What were dogs domesticated from?

gray wolves

What is Coppinger’s theory of canine domestication?

• Coppinger believes that wolves domesticated themselves by filling a niche created by people when they settled and left animal remains behind

• combination of natural selection (behaviors - tameability, decreased flight distance) and artificial selection (looks, behaviors, etc.)

What is the single behavior that Coppinger believes led to the survival of ancient wolves that were the progenitors of domesticated dogs?

shorter flight distances - meant these wolves were more likely to access the food remains left by people, and it helped them survive

What physical changes characterize the “proto-dog” as described by Coppinger

• broader, smaller skulls and a smaller brain (no longer hunting in packs, but scavenging)

• smaller teeth

• shorter snout

• body size reduced to 2/3 the size of the wolf

Modern dogs vs. wolves

• dwarf and giant breeds, different coat colors, floppy ears

• neoteny - when a species or individual maintains baby like features

• changes in reproductive cycles - earlier maturation

In Belyaev’s experiment with foxes, what selection criteria did he use for breeding?

• least excitable temperament

  • he did not breed foxes that cowered or bit when he reached out to touch them

• curious or tolerant foxes were bred

• ultimately he was selecting for shorter flight distances and tameness

How quickly did the Belyaev foxes change their behavioral, morphological and physiological characteristics? 

Within 10 years

What were some of the behavioral, morphological and physiological changes that were seen in the “domesticated” foxes in Belyaev’s experiment? 

• Floppy ears 

• Different coat colors  

• Started to bark and vocalize 

• More playful 

• Not afraid of people 

• Some answered to names 

What is the significance of the Belyaev experiment on our understanding of domestication of the dog? 

• Adrenalin and melanin change together (colors and behaviors) 

• Change in thought that all evolution occurs over very long periods 

Brief history of the spread of dogs through the world

• dogs have been kept in many cultures throughout the world and throughout history

• may have originated in Africa

• humans and dogs dispersed together throughout Africa, Asia, Europe

  • cross the Bering Land Bridge with humans into Alaska more than 10,000 years ago

What were some historical uses of dogs?

• guard dogs

• sled dogs

• war dogs

When and where is the earliest archaeological evidence of humans and cats together found?

Around 8,000 years ago on Cyprus

When were cats truly “domesticated"?”

~4,000 years ago

What are cats likely descended from?

African or European wild cats

Historical context of cats and origin of domestication

Domestication likely arose due to a combination of man moving into feline inhabited areas, and felines being drawn into contact with people by the abundance of vermin nearby.

Cats were revered in ancient Egypt but persecuted in the European Middle Ages due to their association with witchcraft.

Domestic cats hunt at twilight, they have more rods than cones in their retina, a reflecting tapetum lucidum, and their eyes dilate widely. Is this a PROXIMATE or ULTIMATE explanation of twilight hunting behavior?

Proximate, because it describes the physical mechanisms that allow them to do so

Behaviors common among Felidae species?

• scratching - mark territory and maintain claws

• urine spraying - marking territory

• purring - due to the hyoid bone, in lesser cats it is solid and allows purring; it greater cats, the hyoid is more flexible and they can’t purr, but they can roar

  • since cougars and cheetahs are phylogenetically closer to cats, they purr

Is hyoid bone flexibility a proximate or ultimate cause?

proximate because it is a physical mechanism