Xenocyon

Xenocyon lycaonoides
Temporal range: 1.8–0.126 Ma
↓

Early to Middle Pleistocene

Xenocyon falconeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: †Xenocyon
Species: †X. lycaonoides
Binomial name
Xenocyon lycaonoides
Kretzoi, 1938
Synonyms

Canis africanus Pohle, 1928 [1]

Xenocyon lycanoides is an extinct canid from the Pleistocene of Eurasia. It lived from 1.8 Ma to 126,000 years ago, existing for approximately 1.674 million years. Its name means "strange dog with wolf form", from Xeno- meaning foreign or strange and cyon for dog. [1][2]

Jaw

It preyed on antelope, deer, elephant calves, aurochs, baboons, wild horse and perhaps humans. It was probably the ancestor of the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) and possibly the dhole (Cuon alpinus) of south-east Asia, the extinct Sardinian dhole (Cynotherium sardous).[1][3][4] and perhaps the extinct Javanese dogs (Megacyon merriami, Mececyon trinilensis).[5][6]

The generic assignment of X. lycaonoides is controversial. As an alternative to its placement in Xenocyon,[3] some recent authorities have placed the species in Lycaon (with the African wild dog, Lycaon pictus)[1] or in Canis (with wolves and jackals).[7]

In Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene, Canis falconeri gave rise to the hypercarnivore Xenocyon, which then gave rise to the dhole and the African hunting dog.[8]:p149 Just before the appearance of C. dirus, North America was invaded by the genus Xenocyon that was as large as C. dirus and more hypercarnivorous. The fossil record shows them as rare and it is assumed that they could not compete with the newly derived C. dirus.[8]:p60

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Martínez-Navarro, B. & L. Rook (2003). "Gradual evolution in the African hunting dog lineage: systematic implications". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 2 (8): 695–702. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2003.06.002.
  2. ↑ Paleobiology Database: Thaumastocyonini Basic info.
  3. 1 2 Lyras, G.A.; Van Der Geer, A.E.; Dermitzakis, M.; De Vos, J. (2006). "Cynotherium sardous, an insular canid (Mammalia: Carnivora) from the Pleistocene Of Sardinia (Italy), and its origin". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 26 (3): 735–745. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2006)26[735:CSAICM]2.0.CO. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  4. ↑ Moulle, P.E.; Echassoux, A.; Lacombat, F. (2006). "Taxonomie du grand canidé de la grotte du Vallonnet (Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes, France)". L'anthropologie. 110 (5): 832–836. doi:10.1016/j.anthro.2006.10.001. Retrieved 2008-04-28. (in French)
  5. ↑ Lyras, G.A.; Van Der Geer, A.E.; Rook, L. (2010). "Body size of insular carnivores: evidence from the fossil record". Journal of Biogeography. 37 (6): 1007–1021. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2010.02312.x. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  6. ↑ Van der Geer, A.; Lyras, G.; De Vos, J.; Dermitzakis M. (2010). Evolution of Island Mammals: adaptation and extinction of placental mammals on islands. Wiley-Blackwell (Oxford, UK). ISBN 978-1-4051-9009-1. Cite uses deprecated parameter |coauthors= (help)
  7. ↑ Werdelin, L.; Lewis, M.E. (2005). "Plio-Pleistocene Carnivora of eastern Africa: species richness and turnover patterns". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 144 (2): 121–144. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00165.x.
  8. 1 2 Wang, Xiaoming; Tedford, Richard H.; Dogs: Their Fossil Relatives and Evolutionary History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.


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