Formosan Mountain Dog — an AI-generated illustration, not a photograph of a real dog
An AI-generated illustration — not a photograph of a real dog.

Formosan Mountain Dog

Placed on this panel from 3 sequenced dogs, among 258 breeds.

Measured nearest to Chow Chow, and nothing among the other 257 breeds is nearer. The smallest branch holding them both covers 99.6% of this tree.

The 12 breeds nearest to Formosan Mountain Dog.

The line starts at the tightest pairing this panel holds and ends at the widest separation measured on it, so how far along these marks sit is the answer to how close Formosan Mountain Dog really is to anything.

1Chow Chow2Thai Ridgeback3Chinese Shar-Pei4Kishu5Japanese Akita6American Akita7Shiba Inu8Kai Ken9Greenland Dog10Eurasier11Alaskan Malamute12Tibetan Spaniel

Closeness is measured from the genomes, and nothing else. It has no units and no dates. Two breeds sitting close together means their lines separate late in this data. It does not mean either one came from the other.

3 sequenced dogs is a thin sample. This breed’s exact neighbours could move if more were added; the neighbourhood is steadier than the order within it.