Mbwa

Mbwa

Mbwa-mwitu wa Ulaya

Uainishaji wa kisayansi

Himaya:	Animalia (Wanyama)
Faila:	Chordata (Wanyama wenye ugwe wa neva mgongoni)
Nusufaila:	Vertebrata (Wanyama wenye uti wa mgongo)
Ngeli:	Mammalia (Wanyama wenye viwele wanaonyonyesha wadogo wao)
Oda:	Carnivora (Wanyama mbua)
Nusuoda:	Caniformia (Wanyama kama mbwa)
Familia:	Canidae

Ngazi za chini

Jenasi 12:

Atelocynus Cabrera, 1940
Canis Linnaeus, 1758
Cerdocyon C.E.H. Smith, 1839
Chrysocyon C.E.H. Smith, 1839
Cuon Hodgson, 1838
Lycalopex Burmeister, 1854
Lycaon Brookes, 1827
Nyctereutes Temminck, 1839
Otocyon Müller, 1836
Speothos Lund, 1839
Urocyon Baird, 1857
Vulpes Frisch, 1775

Mbwa ni wanyama mbua wa familia Canidae, lakini takriban spishi zote za Afrika zinaitwa bweha au mbweha.

Ukubwa wa spishi za mwitu unatofautiana kutoka 24 sm (fenek) mpaka 2 m (mbwa-mwitu wa Ulaya (kadiri ya vipimo kwa mbwa-kaya ni 9.5-250 sm).

Mbwa wa familia Canidae hupatikana mabara yote isipokuwa Antaktika.

Wanyama hawa wana pua ndefu na miguu mirefu na mkia wa manyoya. Rangi yao ni kijivu, kahawia au hudhurungi; kwa kawaida tumbo ni jeupe.

Spishi nyingine zinatokea misituni na nyingine zinatokea maeneo wazi. Mbwa hukamata mawindo aina yoyote lakini ukubwa wa mawindo unafuatana na ukubwa wa spishi ya mbwa. Hata hivyo, spishi zinazoishi kwa makundi, kama mbwa-mwitu wa Afrika, zinaweza kukamata windo kubwa sana kuliko wao wenyewe. Spishi kadhaa hufugwa na binadamu, hususan mbwa-kaya.

Spishi za Afrika

Canis adustus, Bweha Miraba (Side-striped Jackal)
Canis anthus, Mbwa-mwitu Dhahabu au Bweha wa Mbuga (Common or African Golden Wolf)
- Canis a. algirensis, Mbwa-mwitu wa Aljeria au Bweha Kaskazi (Algerian wolf)
- Canis a. anthus, Mbwa-mwitu au Bweha wa Senegali (Senegalese wolf)
- Canis a. bea, Mbwa-mwitu au Bweha Mashariki (Serengeti wolf)
- Canis a. lupaster, Mbwa-mwitu au Bweha wa Misri (Egyptian wolf)
- Canis a. riparius, Mbwa-mwitu au Bweha Somali (Somali wolf)
- Canis a. soudanicus, Mbwa-mwitu Mabaka au Bweha wa Sudani (Variegated wolf)
Canis lupus, Mbwa-mwitu wa Ulaya (Grey Wolf)
- Canis l. familiaris, Mbwa-kaya (Domestic Dog)
Canis mesomelas, Bweha Mgongo-mweusi au Bweha Shaba (Black-backed Jackal)
Canis simensis, Mbwa-mwitu Habeshi (Ethiopian Wolf, Abyssinian Wolf, Simien Fox au Simien Jackal)
Lycaon pictus, Mbwa-mwitu wa Afrika (African Wild Dog, African Sun Wolf au African Hunting Dog)
Otocyon megalotis, Bweha Masikio (Bat-eared Fox)
Vulpes cana, Bweha wa Blanford (Blanford's Fox)
Vulpes chama, Bweha Kusi (Cape Fox)
Vulpes pallida, Bweha wa Saheli (Pale Fox)
Vulpes rueppelli, Bweha wa Rüppell (Rüppell's Fox)
Vulpes vulpes, Bweha Mwekundu
- Vulpes v. barbara, Bweha Mwekundu wa Barbari (Barbary fox)
- Vulpes v. niloticus, Bweha Mwekundu wa Misri (Nile fox)
Vulpes zerda, Feneki au Bweha-jangwa (Fennec Fox)

Spishi za mabara mengine

Atelocynus microtis (Short-eared Dog)
Canis aureus (Common or Golden Jackal)
- Canis a. aureus (Common Jackal)
- Canis a. cruesemanni ( Siamese Jackal)
- Canis a. ecsedensis (Balkan Jackal)
- Canis a. indicus (Indian Jackal)
- Canis a. moreoticus (European Jackal)
- Canis a. naria ( Sri Lankan Jackal)
- Canis a. syriacus (Syrian Jackal)
Canis latrans (Coyote au Prairie Wolf)
Canis lupus (Grey Wolf)
- Canis l. albus (Tundra wolf)
- Canis l. arabs (Arabian wolf)
- Canis l. campestris (Steppe wolf)
- Canis l. chanco (Mongolian wolf)
- Canis l. dingo (Dingo) – pengine C. dingo
- Canis l. familiaris (Domestic Dog)
- Canis l. filchneri (Tibetan wolf)
- Canis l. lupus (Eurasian wolf)
- Canis l. pallipes (Indian wolf)
Cerdocyon thous (Crab-eating Fox)
Chrysocyon brachyurus (Maned Wolf)
Cuon alpinus (Dhole au Asian Wild Dog)
Dusicyon australis (Falkland Island Wolf) imekwisha sasa
Lycalopex culpaeus (Culpeo)
Lycalopex fulvipes (Darwin's Fox)
Lycalopex griseus (Argentine Grey Fox)
Lycalopex gymnocercus (Pampas Fox)
Lycalopex sechurae (Sechura Fox)
Lycalopex vetulus (Hoary Fox)
Nyctereutes procyonoides (Raccoon Dog)
Speothos venaticus (Bush Dog)
Urocyon cinereoargenteus (Grey Fox)
Urocyon littoralis (Island Fox)
Urocyon sp. nov. (Cozumel Fox)
Vulpes bengalensis (Bengal Fox)
Vulpes corsac (Corsac Fox)
Vulpes ferrilata (Tibetan Sand Fox)
Vulpes lagopus (Arctic Fox) – pengine Alopex lagopus
Vulpes macrotis (Kit Fox)
Vulpes velox (Swift Fox)
Vulpes vulpes (Red Fox)