In 2018, the DNA of all members of the genus "Canis" (except for the black-backed jackal and side-striped jackal), the dhole and the African wild dog were compared. It was discovered that long ago, dholes and African wild dogs bred with each other. Today, these species live very far from each other. Thus, the study suggests that dholes may have once lived in the Middle East, where African wild dogs in North Africa came and bred with the dholes. However, no fossils of dholes have been discovered in either the Middle East or North Africa yet.source?