Modern-day dingoes already established across Australia thousands of years ago, research finds

Newly recovered DNA from predator’s remains shows they share little genetic ancestry with domestic dogs and are descended from ancient dogs from China

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Scientists have for the first time recovered DNA from the remains of dingoes between 400 and 2,700 years old to find the predator’s population was well established across the continent thousands of years ago.

According to the researchers, modern dingoes share little genetic ancestry with domestic dogs introduced into Australia from Europe, but are instead descended from ancient dogs and wolves from China and the Tibetan plateau. Dingoes were closely related to modern New Guinea singing dogs, the research confirmed, with both sharing a common ancestor.

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