Dogs native to America were wiped out by Eurasian dogs

USA TODAY NETWORK Marc Daalder, Detroit Free Press
Published 5:57 p.m. ET July 5, 2018 | Updated 5:58 p.m. ET July 5, 2018

Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas changed the fate of the world forever. It revolutionized trade, prompted genocide and mass slavery, and, a new study concludes, led to the complete erasure of native dogs.

That's the result of a new study appearing in Science magazine this week. The lengthy genetic and archaeological investigation argues that dogs native to the Americas were essentially completely wiped out by the arrival of European dogs in the 15th century.

Pre-contact American dogs left “little to no trace” in the genomes of modern American dogs, according to a news release from Arbor Biosciences, which assisted with the research.

“In fact, we now know that the modern American dogs beloved worldwide, such as Labradors and Chihuahuas, are largely descended from Eurasian breeds, introduced to the Americas between the 15th and 20th centuries,” said Angela Perri of Durham University in the United Kingdom, according to the news release.

More:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/07/05/dogs-america-native-genetics/761542002/