African hairless dogs, also known as Abyssinian sand terriers and African sand dogs among many other names, were

hairless dog A hairless dog is a dog with a Genetics, genetic disposition for hairlessness and hair loss. There are two known types of genetic hairlessness, a Dominant gene, dominant and a recessive type. The dominant type is caused by ectodermal dysplasia a ...

s from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. It is unknown if any examples still exist. This "breed" of dog is known for being “semi-wild”, meaning they tend to follow rather than live with the cattle breeders; though they occasionally serve as valuable companions on hunting trips. The many names of this “breed” include the words Egyptian, Abyssinian, and Zulu, which simply suggests that the genes for hairlessness have appeared independently in multiple areas of the continent as a cooling system in high heat. A number of early European accounts from Africa mention a small hairless dog. It was described as fast moving with a short, sharp bark, and it was said to be either sandy-coloured or blue-black. Contemporary reports indicated that it may or may not have had a crest of stiff hair on its head and a tuft of hair on its tail, although photographs of it fail to show any hair. Three examples were brought to Britain in 1833 and were displayed at the

London Zoo London Zoo, previously known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens and sometimes called Regent's Park Zoo, is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828 and was originally intended to be used as a colle ...

as Egyptian Hairless Dogs; a specimen dating from 1903 is preserved at the

Natural History Museum at Tring The Natural History Museum at Tring was the private museum of Lionel Walter, 2nd Baron Rothschild; today it is under the control of the Natural History Museum, London. It houses one of the finest collections of stuffed mammals, birds, reptil ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. These accounts of the African hairless dogs suggest that they were encountered across the continent. They are believed to be extinct, although no thorough search has been conducted across Africa to confirm that they no longer exist.

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* Hairless dogs Extinct dog breeds Extinct terriers Dog breeds originating in Africa {{dog-stub

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