Chihuahuas Carry Coyote DNA — 5ch Reacts: “Mouse Blood Would’ve Been Easier to Believe”

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The story

A research team including Stanford University has revealed that the DNA of the Chihuahua, a companion dog native to Mexico, contains fragments shared with wild coyotes. On 5ch’s Science News+ board, posters reacted with surprise (“‘DNA fragments’ is an interesting way to put it”) and discussed the breeding history with the native Mexican dog Xoloitzcuintli, along with the possibility that genes from pre-Columbian American dogs still survive today. At the same time, skeptical voices questioned calling shared DNA a “bloodline,” with comments like “humans and monkeys share DNA too” and “if that counts as a bloodline, isn’t that basically a lie,” sparking debate.

It turns out Chihuahuas actually carry coyote blood

Research conducted by Stanford University and others in the United States has revealed that the DNA of the Chihuahua, a small dog breed native to Mexico, contains fragments shared with wild coyotes.

Quietly passed down inside that little lap dog is a trace of a wild canine relative.

Source: nazology.kusuguru.co.jp / Original article here

What people said

6AnonymousSep 17, 2026 23:08
Couldn't it just be that Chihuahuas were eating coyote carcasses at some point?
11AnonymousSep 18, 2026 01:21
Re: #6
If you inherit the DNA of whatever you eat, does eating pork turn you into a pig?
7AnonymousSep 17, 2026 23:19
So? ~Fin~ (a stylized way of writing 終/"end" by splitting the kanji into its two parts, 糸 and 冬)
8AnonymousSep 17, 2026 23:28
Got a coyote cross in the bloodline
9AnonymousSep 18, 2026 00:17
Chihuahuas are basically rodents
10AnonymousSep 18, 2026 01:08
Honestly, coyote or jackal, I don't think it really matters — isn't the actual point of this article how they even figured that out?
18AnonymousSep 18, 2026 02:30
I think it was Central/South America, but the mtDNA of the ancient dog remains turned out to be a common lineage.
The autosomal DNA didn't hold up, if I recall.

Re: #10
Didn't the American continent ones also lack any distinguishing features?
12AnonymousSep 18, 2026 01:57
Huh, so that's how it is.
Now then, what about the "employer of the employed"… (a pun — コヨーテ/koyote sounds like 雇用/koyou, "employment")
13AnonymousSep 18, 2026 02:01
Is that why they've got that personality?
14AnonymousSep 18, 2026 02:20
Barely able to post anymore, it's annoying.
5ch's logs have basically no value left at this point.

The following content is unverified.

In the Aztec civilization, which flourished in central Mexico from the 14th to 16th centuries, the Xoloitzcuintli (Xolo) wasn't just a pet — it was treated as an extremely important "sacred animal" tied to the survival of the world and the afterlife. Here's a detailed look at that mythology and history. [2, 3, 4]
15AnonymousSep 18, 2026 02:24
Re: #14

1. It still carries the DNA of native American dogs

Most modern dog breeds descend from dogs of European origin, but the Chihuahua and the Xolo are among the rare breeds that miraculously retain DNA from native dogs that lived in the Americas before Columbus's arrival.

Recent genetic research has proven that Chihuahuas still carry about 4%, and Xolos about 3%, of genetic material from "ancient American dogs" distinct from European dogs.
16AnonymousSep 18, 2026 02:24
A botched wisdom-ring puzzle → "Awawa" → "Chihuahua" (a nonsense pun riffing on how the word sounds)
17AnonymousSep 18, 2026 02:25
Re: #15

4. The breeding history behind its origin

There's a long-standing theory that "the Chihuahua's base came from crossing the native Techichi with the Xolo." The Xolo comes in three sizes — Toy, Miniature, and Standard — and it's thought that crossing the smallest Toy-sized Xolo with the Techichi laid the groundwork for the modern Chihuahua's characteristic "smooth coat" (short, sleek fur).
20AnonymousSep 18, 2026 05:57
Coyote? Wait, do you mean "kai-yote"? Japanese pronunciation is just too far off.
21AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:36
Huh, so Chihuahuas have South American roots
24AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:05
Re: #21
Apparently they were already being raised for food and sacrifice back in the Toltec and Aztec eras.
31AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:38
Re: #21
The Mexican state of Chihuahua is gonna file a complaint.
22AnonymousSep 18, 2026 09:56
Still, I'm surprised they were eaten.
Before that they were used for ritual sacrifice.
23AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:04
If we're just talking a shared DNA fragment, humans share those with monkeys, even mice, evolutionarily speaking, right?
25AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:30
Then unless you can say coyotes are literally part of the Chihuahua's bloodline, it's not scientifically sound.
In other words, it's bogus.
26AnonymousSep 18, 2026 10:30
And if that's not the case, then the whole idea of a "bloodline" here is a lie to begin with.

Background and key points of this discussion

The original article, based on research from Stanford University and others in the US, reported that Chihuahua DNA contains fragments believed to trace back to coyotes. The Xoloitzcuintli (Xolo), frequently mentioned in the thread, is one of the few breeds said to carry the blood of “native dogs” that lived in the Americas before Columbus’s arrival, and research suggests Chihuahuas also retain about 4% of their genetic makeup from ancient American dogs. At the same time, how much a shared DNA fragment should really count as a “bloodline” is a tricky line to draw even for experts, and the thread saw skeptical takes like “humans and monkeys share DNA too” and “if that counts as a bloodline, isn’t that basically a lie.” The thread also touched on how mitochondrial DNA (maternal line) and autosomal DNA can tell different stories about ancestry — a distinction that’s easy to conflate.

※This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (Science News+) thread “[Nazology] It turns out Chihuahuas actually carry coyote blood.”

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