Taxonomic tangles posed by human association – the urgent need for an evidence-based review of dingo and domestic dog taxonomy and nomenclature

A serious challenge in modern taxonomy is whether, or how, relationships with humans have altered the evolutionary trajectory of species and how this should be dealt with in taxonomic nomenclature. Despite their historic treatment as a discrete taxon, the taxonomy and nomenclature of dingoes has been robustly debated for decades, in part due to their close evolutionary relationship to wolves and domestic dogs, as well as uncertainty about the role of humans in shaping their origins. One outcome of this ongoing scientific debate is a set of criteria regarding reproductive isolation, evolutionary distinctiveness and evolutionary origins that can be used to refine discussion about the appropriate taxonomy of dingoes. We review significant scientific advances in our knowledge of the distinct identity of dingoes in light of these criteria and discuss the need for scientists to assess the multi-stage process of domestication when considering species that may have interacted with humans over evolutionary timescales. Current evidence indicates that dingoes are on a different evolutionary trajectory to domestic dogs and thus we argue that the appropriate nomenclature for dingoes is Canis dingo or Canis lupus dingo, not Canis familiaris. We suggest that an independent evidence-based scientific review with expert consultation is one pathway through which taxonomic debate about dingoes and other controversial species could be resolved.