Small dogs may originate in Middle East

For Al-Shorfa.com
2010-02-24

A new gene study reveals that small dogs might originate from the Middle East, BBC News reported Wednesday (February 24th). The IGF1 gene found in small dogs is close to that found in the Middle Eastern grey wolf, a small creature that resembles a Chihuahua dog. Remains from small dogs in the Middle East that were located, date as far back as 12,000 years. Remains in Europe date back 31,000 years but come from larger dogs. The small wolf was likely domesticated, researchers from the University of California concluded, and animals become smaller in size because of it.

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