A wolfdog is a canine produced by the mating of a domestic dog with a gray wolf, eastern wolf, red wolf, or Ethiopian wolf to produce a hybrid.
An Arctic wolf/Alaskan Malamute hybrid from Lobo Park, Antequera
Genetic research has shown that wolves with black pelts owe their coloration to a mutation that first arose in domestic dogs.
"Mixed breed Dog and Wolf" from The Menageries: Quadrupeds Described and Drawn from Living Subjects by William Ogilby, 1829
A Saarloos Wolfdog
In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two different organisms, whereas an individual where some cells are derived from a different organism is called a chimera. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents, but can show hybrid vigor, sometimes growing larger or taller than either parent. The concept of a hybrid is interpreted differently in animal and plant breeding, where there is interest in the individual parentage. In genetics, attention is focused on the numbers of chromosomes. In taxonomy, a key question is how closely related the parent species are.
A mule is a sterile hybrid of a male donkey and a female horse. Mules are smaller than horses but stronger than donkeys, making them useful as pack animals.
Liger, a lion/tiger hybrid bred in captivity
Oenothera lamarckiana is a permanent natural hybrid, studied intensively by the geneticist Hugo de Vries. Illustration by De Vries, 1913.
Hybrid between Lady Amherst's pheasant (Chrysolophus amherstiae) and another species, probably golden pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus)
