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The Natural History And Ecology Of Melanism In Red Wolf And Coyote Populations Of The Southeastern United States – Evidence For Gloger’S Rule, Joseph W. Hinton, Kyla M. West, Daniel J. Sullivan, Jacqueline L. Frair, Michael J. Chamberlain

United States Environmental Protection Agency: Staff Publications

Background: Gloger’s rule postulates that animals should be darker colored in warm and humid regions where dense vegetation and dark environments are common. Although rare in Canis populations, melanism in wolves is more common in North America than other regions globally and is believed to follow Gloger’s rule. In the temperate forests of the southeastern United States, historical records of red wolf (Canis rufus) and coyote (Canis latrans) populations document a consistent presence of melanism. Today, the melanistic phenotype is extinct in red wolves while occurring in coyotes and red wolf-coyote hybrids who occupy the …