Long-haired Chihuahuas get their locks courtesy of a recessive genetic mutation.
Modern Chihuahuas originated in Mexico. Like all cutting-edge puppies breeds, Chihuahuas hint their evolutionary roots to the gray wolf (Canis lupus). Like their Labrador, Pekinese, and Rottweiler relatives, Chihuahuas replicate the cultural, materialistic and labor wishes of the humans who molded them from a historical stock into the current breeds they are today.
Ancient Dog Evolution
Scientists have long suspected that puppies originated from selectively bred wolves, and that domestication occurred around the identical time that humans started settling down and inventing agriculture. However, a 1997 study, published within the journal “Science,” offered DNA evidence demonstrating that dogs have been plenty older than formerly thought.
According to the data, dogs developed over 100,000 years ago, when humans had been nevertheless nomadic. While scientists are not yet certain whether dogs resulted from one domestication occasion or two such events around the same time, it’s miles clear that domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are the direct progeny of gray wolves.
PBS explains that most of the one hundred fifty or so residing canine breeds are the product of the past a hundred and fifty years of human-guided evolution of the species, but Chihuahuas predate this era of rather a speedy breed development.
Modern History of the Breed
Chihuahuas are a vintage breed that was first registered with the American Kennel Club in 1904. However, Chihuahuas have been barking at strangers and searching at their owners with vulnerable, loving eyes for an awful lot longer than that. Chihuahuas are recognized to had been popular in Mexico prior to European settlement, and some statistics exist that indicate that Columbus met the endearing little dogs and might have had a hand in bringing them back to the Old World.
Mysterious Beginnings
According to the AKC, the early canine breeders possibly developed the Chihuahua from a dog referred to as the Techichi. The Techichi became a canine of the Toltec people, who inhabited Mexico from the early 900s to the mid-1100s. However, the Techichi’s roots maybe even deeper than that: They probably inhabited Mexico prior to the rise of the Mayan culture.
Nevertheless, the transition from the Techichi to the Chihuahua remains murky. Archaeologists working in the Yucatan Peninsula have located the oldest Chihuahua-like puppies ever recorded, in websites that date to the mid-16th century.
Developmental Downsizing
Modern Chihuahuas are dainty dogs who typically weigh approximately 6 pounds, a few smaller. However, their ancestors have been a great deal larger. This reduction in size may be the result of breeding between early Chihuahuas and Chinese crested dogs.
