Super ball

[Egapal]

In 1993 dogs were reclassified genetically as a subspecies of the grey wolf. They now fall under Canis Lupus. So technically wolf dogs are not even hybrids anymore. Depending on which science circle you're in, but they are not plants so...

http://www2.fiu.edu/~milesk/Genetics.htm

"A wolfdog is a cross between a gray wolf and a dog--what some refer to as a wolf hybrid. The term "hybrid", however, is used differently in the various scientific disciplines. For example, in horticulture, hybrids are formed by humans as crosses of different 'types' of plants; the term is used equally for crosses both among and within species. Conversely, in evolutionary biology, the term "hybrid" is used almost exclusively to describe offspring arising from a naturally-occurring cross between two separate and genetically distinct species.

(“The domestic dog is an extremely close relative of the gray wolf, differing from it by at most 0.2% of mtDNA sequence....
In comparison, the gray wolf differs from its closest wild relative, the coyote, by about 4% of mitochondrial DNA sequence.&rdquo

So one might recognize the potential for confusion arising from the use of the word "hybrid" when applied to a wolf/dog cross. It is more appropriate to refer to these animals as wolfdogs.

In 1993, the Smithsonian Institution and the American Society of Mammalogists reclassified the dog from its separate species designation of Canis familiaris to Canis lupus familiaris. So, now, the Timber wolf (Canis lupus nubilus), the Mackenzie or Tundra wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis), the dog (Canis lupus familiaris ), etc., fall under the genetic umbrella of the gray wolf: Canis lupus."

Sure but end of the day I would still call a wolf/dog a hybrid and not a great dane x black lab. At the end of the day speciation is far from black and white. Although earlier I pointed out that often times hybrids are infertile we can hardly use fertility of the resulting offspring as a rule as infertility goes down gradually as the component species become more disperate. I think its really a matter of opinion at this level. Are wolfdogs a hybrid? I would answer the question with another question. Is a carpondro a hybrid? Its a green tree python (morelia viridis) crossed with a carpet (morelia spilota). What about a coastal carpet (Morelia spilota mcdowelli) crossed with a jungle carpet (Morelia spilota cheynei). Personally I consider them all to be hybrids and I would like to see their lines protected as much as we can so that people know what they are breeding so they can pass the information on. Many would call a carpondro a hybrid and not a coastal x jungle. I am guessing Foschi Exotic Serpents falls in that category. I have heard the argument that carpondros aren't hybrids and based on some definitions I wouldn't put up much of a fight.