A new species is evolving right before our eyes -- an ultra-successful mix of wolves, coyotes and dog

[csziggy]

2. There is such a thing as "Hybrid speciation"

Hybrid speciation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hybrid speciation is a form of speciation where hybridization between two different species leads to a new species, reproductively isolated from the parent species. From the 1940s, reproductive isolation between hybrids and their parents was thought to be particularly difficult to achieve and thus hybrid species were thought to be extremely rare. With DNA analysis becoming more accessible in the 1990s, hybrid speciation has been shown to be a fairly common phenomenon, particularly in plants.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_speciation#Known_cases

Genetic considerations

The wolf-like canids are a group of large carnivores that are genetically closely related because their chromosomes number 78. The group includes genus Canis, Cuon and Lycaon. The members are the dog (C. lupus familiaris), gray wolf (C. lupus), coyote (C. latrans), golden jackal (C. aureus), Ethiopian wolf (C. simensis), black-backed jackal (C. mesomelas), side-striped jackal (C. adustus), dhole (Cuon alpinus), and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus).[2] Newly proposed members include the red wolf (Canis rufus), eastern wolf (Canis lycaon), and African golden wolf (C. anthus). As they possess 78 chromosomes, all members of the genus Canis (coyotes, wolves, jackals) are karyologically indistinguishable from each other, and from the dhole and the African hunting dog.[3][4]:p279 The members of Canis can potentially interbreed.[5]

When the differences in number and arrangement of chromosomes is too great, hybridization becomes less and less likely. The wolf, dingo, dog, coyote, and golden jackal all have 78 chromosomes arranged in 39 pairs.[6] This allows them to hybridize freely (barring size or behavioral constraints) and produce fertile offspring.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canid_hybrid

I'm used to equine hybrids - mules, zedonks, etc. that are not fertile so the idea that canid hybrids are easily fertile is a little unsettling.

I suspect that the ecological disruption created by human development is isolating variable canid populations so the conditions for geographical and behavioral isolation are mat.