Dingo: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Wolves and Foxes · day 7 of 7

Five facts

1. Even at the lowest sea levels, reaching Australia meant crossing at least 50 km of open sea, so dingoes must have arrived by boat.
2. The oldest dingo bones, from the Madura Caves, were carbon-dated in 2018 to between 3,081 and 3,348 years old.
3. The oldest dingo remains found in the Torres Strait islands are about 2,100 years old.
4. Ancient DNA ties dingoes to ancient dogs from southern China, hinting at a spread through Southeast Asia.
5. Genes show the New Guinea singing dog is a closer cousin of southeastern Australian dingoes than of northwestern ones.

The quiz

1. How did dingoes most likely reach Australia?

• Walking over a land bridge
• By boat (correct)
• Swimming the whole way
• Floating on logs

At least 50 km of open sea had to be crossed, so dingoes came by boat.

2. How old are the oldest dingo bones from the Madura Caves?

• About 300 years
• About 33,000 years
• About 3,100 to 3,350 years (correct)
• About 1 million years

Carbon dating in 2018 put them at 3,081 to 3,348 years old.

3. How old are the oldest dingo remains from the Torres Strait?

• About 2,100 years (correct)
• About 210 years
• About 21,000 years
• About 210,000 years

The oldest remains there date to about 2,100 years ago.

4. Which ancient dogs are dingoes tied to by DNA?

• Dogs from northern Europe
• Dogs from the Arctic
• Dogs from South America
• Dogs from southern China (correct)

Ancient DNA ties dingoes to ancient dogs from southern China, hinting at a spread through Southeast Asia.

5. Which dingoes is the singing dog closest to genetically?

• Those of northwestern Australia
• Those of southeastern Australia (correct)
• Those of Tasmania
• Those of Java

Its genes are closer to southeastern dingoes than to northwestern ones.

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