
''Canis lepophagus'' (Latin: : 'dog'; : 'hare' or 'rabbit'; suffix : '-eating'; hence hare-eating dog) is an extinct
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
canid
Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a family (biology), biological family of caniform carnivorans, constituting a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). The family includes three subfamily, subfamilies: the Caninae, a ...
which was endemic to much of
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
during the
Early Pliocene
Early may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Early, Iowa, a city
* Early, Texas, a city
* Early Branch, a stream in Missouri
* Early County, Georgia
* Fort Early, Georgia, an early 19th century fort
Music
* Early B, stage name of Jamaican d ...
.
[ 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 epoch (geology), 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 mea ...]
''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.[ ]Wang
Wang may refer to:
Names
* Wang (surname)
Wang () is the pinyin romanization of Chinese, romanization of the common Chinese surname (''Wáng''). It has a mixture of various origin with uncertain lineage of family history, however it is c ...
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 ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
sites, Tonuco Mountain, New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, western Washington Santa Fe River, Florida,[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 California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, sites in Nebraska
Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...
, Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
, Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, and Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5032444
Extinct wolves
Prehistoric canines
Pleistocene carnivorans
Miocene carnivorans
Neogene mammals of North America
Fossil taxa described in 1938