''Canis lepophagus'' (Latin: : 'dog'; : 'hare' or 'rabbit'; suffix : '-eating'; hence hare-eating dog) is an extinct

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

canid Canidae (; from Latin, '' canis'', " dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found withi ...

which was endemic to much of

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during the

Early Pliocene Early may refer to: History * The beginning or oldest part of a defined historical period, as opposed to middle or late periods, e.g.: ** Early Christianity ** Early modern Europe Places in the United States * Early, Iowa * Early, Texas * ...

. It is notable because its lineage is proposed to have led to both wolves and coyotes.

Evolution

Kurten proposed that the

Blancan The Blancan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 4,750,000 to 1,806,000 years BP, a period of .Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

''Canis'' species in North America. It then became widespread across Eurasia where it was either identical to, or closely related with, '' C. arnensis'' of Europe.

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proposed a linear progression from ''Eucyon davisi'' to ''C. lepophagus'' to the coyote. Johnston describes ''C. lepophagus'' as having a more slender skull and skeleton than in the modern coyote. Nowak found that the early populations had small, delicate and narrowly proportioned skulls that resemble small coyotes and appear to be ancestral to ''C. latrans''. Johnson noted that some specimens found in Cita Canyon, Texas had larger, broader skulls, and along with other fragments Nowak suggested that these were evolving into wolves. Tedford disagreed with previous authors and found that its cranio-dental morphology lacked some characteristics that are shared by '' C. lupus'' and ''C. latrans'', and therefore there was not a close relationship but it did suggest ''C. lepophagus'' was the ancestor of both wolves and coyotes. Additionally, '' C. edwardii'', ''C. latrans'' and '' C. aureus'' form together a small clade and because ''C. edwardii'' appeared earliest spanning the mid-Blancan (late Pliocene) to the close of the Irvingtonian (late Pleistocene) ''C. edwardii'' is proposed as the descendant of ''C. lepophagus'' and the ancestor of the coyote and the golden jackal.

Fossil distribution

The first fossil record was found in Cita Canyon, Texas. Subsequent discoveries of specimens were found in four other

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

sites, Tonuco Mountain,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

, western

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,G. S. Morgan and R. B. Ridgway, Late Pliocene vertebrates from the St. Petersburg Times site, Pinellas County, Florida, ''Papers in Florida Paleontology'', 1987 Black Ranch in northern

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, sites in

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, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5032444 Wolves Prehistoric canines Pleistocene carnivorans Miocene carnivorans Neogene mammals of North America Fossil taxa described in 1938