Editing Dhole (section)

==Characteristics==
[[File:Dhole Kanha.jpg|thumb|A dhole in [[Kanha National Park]], India]]
[[File:Dholeskull.jpg|thumb|Dhole skull and molars illustrated by [[St. George Mivart]] (1890)]]
[[File:Dhole in Ueno, Tokyo.jpg|thumb|Captive adult dhole]]
The dhole's general tone of the fur is reddish, with the brightest hues occurring in winter. In the winter coat, the back is clothed in a saturated rusty-red to reddish colour with brownish highlights along the top of the head, neck and shoulders. The throat, chest, flanks, and belly and the upper parts of the limbs are less brightly coloured, and are more yellowish in tone. The lower parts of the limbs are whitish, with dark brownish bands on the anterior sides of the forelimbs. The muzzle and forehead are greyish-reddish. The tail is very luxuriant and fluffy, and is mainly of a reddish-ocherous colour, with a dark brown tip. The summer coat is shorter, coarser and darker.<ref name=heptner1998/> The dorsal and lateral [[guard hair]]s in adults measure {{cvt|20–30|mm}} in length. Dholes in the [[Moscow Zoo]] moult once a year from March to May.<ref name=cohen1978/> A [[Melanism|melanistic]] individual was recorded in the northern [[Coimbatore]] Forest Division in [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Mahabal, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Sharma, R.M. |author3=Patil, R.N. |author4=Jadhav, S. |year=2019 |title=Colour aberration in Indian mammals: a review from 1886 to 2017 |journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa |volume=11 |issue=6 |pages=13690–13719 |doi=10.11609/jott.3843.11.6.13690-13719 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The dhole has a wide and massive skull with a well-developed [[sagittal crest]],<ref name=heptner1998/> and its [[masseter muscle]]s are highly developed compared to other canid species, giving the face an almost [[hyena]]-like appearance.<ref name="f61_2">{{Harvnb|Fox|1984|pp=61–2}}</ref> The [[rostrum (anatomy)|rostrum]] is shorter than that of domestic dogs and most other canids.<ref name=cohen1978/> It has six rather than seven lower [[Molar (tooth)|molars]].<ref name=f41>{{Harvnb|Fox|1984|pp=41}}</ref> 
The upper molars are weak, being one third to one half the size of those of wolves and have only one [[Cusp (dentistry)|cusp]] as opposed to between two and four, as is usual in canids,<ref name=heptner1998/> an adaptation thought to improve shearing ability and thus speed of prey consumption. This may allow dholes to compete more successfully with [[kleptoparasite]]s.<ref name=Durbin2004/> In terms of size, dholes average about {{cvt|88|-|113|cm}} in length (excluding a {{cvt|41|-|50|cm}} long tail), and stand around {{cvt|42|-|50|cm}} at the shoulders.<ref name=cohen1978/> Adult females can weigh {{cvt|10|-|17|kg}}, while the slightly larger male may weigh {{cvt|15|-|21|kg}}. The mean weight of adults from three small samples was {{cvt|15.1|kg}}.<ref name=Durbin2004/><ref name=Kamler_al2012>{{cite journal |author=Kamler J. F. |author2=Johnson A. |name-list-style=amp |author3=Vongkhamheng C. |author4=Bousa A. |year=2012 |title=The diet, prey selection, and activity of dholes (''Cuon alpinus'') in northern Laos |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=93 |issue=3 |pages=627–633 |doi=10.1644/11-mamm-a-241.1 |s2cid=54996917 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257297107}}</ref>

In appearance, the dhole has been variously described as combining the physical characteristics of the [[gray wolf]] and the [[red fox]],<ref name=heptner1998/> and as being "cat-like" on account of its long backbone and slender limbs.<ref name=thenius1954/>