Canis ferox

Canis ferox (Latin: canis: dog, ferox: fierce; hence fierce dog) is a species of canid which was endemic to North America and lived during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene.[1] Existing nearly 6 million years ago,[2] this animal is thought to be an ancestor of the modern day coyote.[3]

Canis ferox
Temporal range: Late Miocene to Early Pliocene,
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species:
†C. ferox
Binomial name
†Canis ferox
Miller and Carranza-Castaneda 1998

Evolution

Canis ferox marks the beginning of the cladogenesis of the genus Canis. However, this species had other characteristics similar to Eucyon davisi, belonging to a different genus of canids. While C. ferox first lived in North America, the Late Miocene marked the start of its dispersal to Europe and Asia.[4] The dispersal of canids and eucyons does correlate to the increase in animal life and species richness in the area, but the diversity of the canid groups peaked at the same time as the turnover. In Asia, this peak was throughout the Pliocene Era.[5]

Morphological traits

The first partial fossil was found in Rancho Viejo, Guanajuato (Mexico). These fossils consisted of partial maxilla, mandible, vertebrae, shoulder blade, ulna, and phalanges, with nearly complete humeri and skull. Based on the found fossils, researchers estimated that this species was about the size of a female coyote but stronger and wider.[3] It is estimated that their weight could be between 13.3 kg and 14.3 kg, based on the Legendre and Roth correlations.[6] Paleontologists Miller and Carranza-Castaneda noted that the skull of this species resembled that of an ancestral coyote, Canis lepophagus.[3]

References
  1. PaleoBiology Database: Canis ferox
  2. Hare, Brian; Woods, Vanessa (2013). The Genius of Dogs. New York. p. 20.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. Miller, Wade; Carranza-Castaneda, Oscar (1998). "Late Tertiary canids from central Mexico". Journal of Paleontology. 72 (3): 546–556. Bibcode:1998JPal...72..546M. doi:10.1017/S002233600002432X. S2CID 131832444.
  4. Bartolini-Lucenti, Saverio; Rook, Lorenzo (June 2021). ""Canis" ferox Revisited: Diet Ecomorphology of Some Long Gone (Late Miocene and Pliocene) Fossil Dogs". Journal of Mammalian Evolution. 28 (2): 285–306. doi:10.1007/s10914-020-09500-1. S2CID 218694252.
  5. Rook, Lorenzo; Sotnikova, M. (2009). "Dispersal of the Canini (Mammalia Canidae: Caninae) across Eurasia during the Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene". Quaternary International. 212: 86–97.
  6. Legendre, S., S.; Roth, C. (1988). Correlation of carnassial tooth size and body weight in recent carnivores (Mammalia). Historical Biology 1. pp. 85–98.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)


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