File:Canis aureus x Canis familiaris.jpg

English: Three golden jackal-dog hybrids shot in Croatia, 2015. Individual A was an adult female showing light coat colour, digital pad depigmentation and atypical long ears with rounded tip (whereas golden jackals have shorter triangle-shaped ears). However, the digital pads of the middle fingers were partially joined as commonly occurs in golden jackals, but not in dogs. Individual B was a juvenile male found and shot together with female A, probably representing a mother–son pair. It displayed a dog-like morphology, particularly similar to the Istrian shorthaired hound breed (very short hair on the head, white coat colour with sparse patches of light brown, dewclaws on hind legs). However, the animal’s tail was shorter and thicker than typical for this dog breed and more similar to that of a golden jackal. Thus, it was hypothesized that it could have originated through a backcross between the putative hybrid female A and a male Istrian shorthaired hound dog. Individual C was a male that exhibited black coat coloration, atypical for golden jackals, and other dog characteristics such as ears with rounded tip. However, the digital pads on the middle fingers of its forelimbs were partially joined, as in golden jackals.