Scientists were previously of the belief that the "golden jackals" of East Africa and the jackals seen across Eurasia came from the same species. However, a new DNA study has debunked the belief showing that the African "jackals" aren't jackals in the first place. They are actually wolves.

The researchers said that the African golden is the first new species of canid. The researchers dubbed the African golden wolf as Canis anthus. Canid is the biological family that includes dogs, wolves, coyotes, as well as jackals.

"Consistent with two previous studies also based on mitochondrial sequences, we find that golden jackals from Africa and Eurasia are not each other's closest relative as we would expect if they were the same species", said Dr. Klaus-Peter Koepfli, a researcher at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, D. C., and the study's lead author.

The study saw examination of the evolutionary history of both the African and Eurasian animals. They analyzed golden jackal DNA samples and studied extensive genomic data in both the jackals and gray wolves.

The study results clearly indicated that African golden jackals separated from their gray wolf and coyote ancestors nearly 1.3 million years ago. Diversion happened in Eurasian golden jackals some 600,000 years earlier. According to a Science magazine report, there is a 6.7% difference between mitochondrial DNA of the two species.

Koepli told Reuters that the study has vindicated that hidden biodiversity can be discovered in even among well-known and widespread species such as golden jackals. Data sampled from whole genomes further increases the chances of making such discoveries possible.