Published November 14, 2025 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Canis latrans Say 1823

  • 1. Department of Life Science, University of Trieste, Via L. Giorgieri 10, 34127 Trieste, Italy
  • 2. Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 213 / d, 41125 Modena, Italy & PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, Bezuidenhoutseweg 30, 2594 AV The Hague, Netherlands
  • 3. Asociación Ecológica Paquera, Lepanto y Cóbano, PO Box 25 - 5353, Jicaral, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
  • 4. Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 213 / d, 41125 Modena, Italy
  • 5. Associazione Foreste per Sempre OdV, Via D'Avia Sud 65 / a, 41126 Modena, Italy
  • 6. Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 213 / d, 41125 Modena, Italy & Associazione Foreste per Sempre OdV, Via D'Avia Sud 65 / a, 41126 Modena, Italy

Description

Canis latrans Say, 1823

Material examined.

Costa Rica • Puntarenas Province, Karen Mogensen Wildlife Refuge; 09°52'19"N, 085°03'48"W; 384 m alt.; 11.02.2018; vocalisations.

Identification.

Medium-sized canid, related to the Eurasian golden jackal Canis aureus (Linnaeus, 1758) both for morphology and eco-ethology (Wainwright 2007). The colour of fur varies from grey to different yellow-brown tones in the upperparts and usually has paler underparts. The snout is elongated, the ears are triangular and held erect, and the tail is long with a black tip. Adapted to several habitat types thank to the extremely varied diet. Its range is rapidly expanding from North America to South America. At present the coyote is reported only along the Pacific slope of Costa Rica (Hernández-Hernández and Chávez 2021; Reid and Gόmez Zamora 2022). In the Wildlife Refuge the coyote is recorded year-round, mainly in open areas near or within dry forest habitats.

Notes

Published as part of Fonda, Federica, Vezzani, Liam, Mena Aguilar, Luis Ángel, Venegas-Elizondo, Carlos Andrés, Bolaños Brenes, Alexander, Lopez, Dayron Manuel, Romeo, Giuseppe, Sonetti, Dario & Dal Zotto, Matteo, 2025, Mammal diversity and tourism influence in an under-investigated region of Costa Rica, pp. 37-74 in ZooKeys 1260 on pages 37-74, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1260.128800

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Event date
2018-02-11
Verbatim event date
2018-02-11
Scientific name authorship
Say
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Order
Carnivora
Family
Canidae
Genus
Canis
Species
latrans
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic concept label
Canis latrans Say, 1823 sec. Fonda, Vezzani, Aguilar, Venegas-Elizondo, Brenes, Lopez, Romeo, Sonetti & Zotto, 2025

References

  • Wainwright M (2007) The mammals of Costa Rica: A natural history and field guide. Zona Tropical, Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, and London, United Kingdom, 454 pp.
  • Hernández-Hernández JC, Chávez C (2021) Inventory of medium-sized and large mammals in La Encrucijada Biosphere Reserve and Puerto Arista Estuarine System, Chiapas, Mexico. Check List 17: 1155–1170. https://doi.org/10.15560/17.4.1155
  • Reid F, Gοmez Zamora G (2022) Pocket Guide to the Mammals of Costa Rica. Cornell University Press, New York, 286 pp.