They look alike, act alike and have long been considered to be the same species.

But, in the case of the golden jackals, it turns out that appearances can be deceiving.

An exhaustive genetic analysis has found that different populations are made up of two entirely distinct species, with those in Africa are different from the others.

The African golden wolf, Canis anthus, (left) and Eurasian golden jackal, C. aureus (right), were thought to be the same species, formerly known as the golden jackal. Now new genetic analysis has proved otherwise

The scientific name for the golden jackal is Canis aureus. The researchers proposed renaming those in Africa Canis anthus, or the African golden wolf.

'Our results showed that African and Eurasian golden jackals were distinct across all the genetic markers we tested,' said Klaus-Peter Koepfli, a conservation and evolutionary geneticist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington.

This included data from whole genomes, suggesting these are independently evolving lineages, he added.

Koepfli said the genetic data indicated the two lineages are not even closely related, with the African population more closely related to grey wolves and coyotes.

The African golden wolf is found in north and east Africa, with perhaps some in the Middle East. The Eurasian golden jackal, meanwhile, is found from southern Europe to the Middle East and across southern Asia all the way to the edge of southeast Asia in Vietnam, the researchers said

This is the first discovery of a new canid species in Africa in more than 150 years.

The finding raises the number of living species in the mammalian family called Canidae, which includes dogs, wolves, foxes, coyotes and jackals, to 36 from 35.

SIMILARITIES BETWEEN WOLVES AND EURASIAN GOLDEN JACKALS The golden jackal is very similar to the grey wolf in general appearance. There are some notable differences, however. For instance, it is smaller, light er and has shorter legs, with a longer torso. The end of the tail reaches the heel. and the head is lighter than the wolf's, with a less-prominent forehead. The muzzle is narrower and more pointed. The creature's fur's base colour is golden, though this varies seasonally from pale creamy yellow to dark tawny. An exhaustive genetic analysis has found that different populations are made up of two entirely distinct species, with those in Africa different from the others. The two species are quite similar in body size, wolf-like build, head shape, teeth and fur colour. Advertisement

The African golden wolf is found in north and east Africa, with perhaps some in the Middle East.

The Eurasian golden jackal, meanwhile, is found from southern Europe to the Middle East and across southern Asia all the way to the edge of southeast Asia in Vietnam, the researchers said.

'We find no evidence of the Eurasian golden jackal occurring in continental Africa,' Koepfli said.

The two species are quite similar in body size, wolf-like build, head shape, teeth and fur colour.

They thrive across a variety of habitats, from dry savannas in Africa to tropical forests in southeast Asia. They are omnivorous, eating a wide variety of food from small mammals to fruits.

The researchers determined that the African golden jackal lineage split from the lineage including grey wolves and coyotes about 1.3 million years ago while the Eurasian golden jackal lineage split about 600,000 years earlier.

'One of the main takeaways of our study is that even among well-known and widespread species such as golden jackals, there is the potential to discover hidden biodiversity, and that such discoveries are made even more possible by using data sampled from whole genomes,' Koepfli said.