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Group:
Mammal
Size:
Medium-sized canids, males on average 40 cm tall (at the shoulder) and 8 kg in weight, females typically weigh around 7 kg.
Distribution:
There are two subspecies. The southern subspecies presented here, Lupulella. m. mesomelas, occurs from the southern part of South Africa to the southwestern part of Angola, northern Botswana, central Zimbabwe, and southwestern Mozambique. L. m. schmidti occurs further north.
PromethION Sequencing Report:
Output:
55.29 Gigabases
Approximate N50:
5.2 kilobases
Assembly N50:
6 811.19 kilobases
Contig number:
2 942
Draft Genome Assembly Statistics:
Assembler used:
Flye
Genome Length:
2.33 Gigabases
BUSCO completeness score (single and duplicated genes):
99.2% [Single: 87.8%, Duplicated: 11.4%]
BUSCO database:
eukaryota
Importance:
The black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas, formerly Canis mesomelas) is a keystone species in South Africa, maintaining ecosystem balance through rodent control and carrion scavenging that limits disease spread. Its climate adaptability makes it ecologically significant. Genome sequencing is crucial for understanding disease resistance (e.g., rabies resilience), revealing evolutionary adaptations among canids, conserving genetic diversity amid habitat loss, and mitigating human-wildlife conflict.
Sample Contributor contact details:
Dr Carel J Oosthuizen
University of Pretoria
Date Published:
2025-08-27
Photo credit:
© A. Webster
Fauna
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