''Protocyon'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of large

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 ...

endemic to

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and North America during the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as Upper Pleistocene from a stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division of the Pleistocene Epoch within ...

living from 781 to 12thousand years ago.

Description

''Protocyon'' was a

hypercarnivore A hypercarnivore is an animal which has a diet that is more than 70% meat, either via active predation or by scavenging. The remaining non-meat diet may consist of non-animal foods such as fungi, fruits or other plant material. Some extant e ...

, suggested by its dental adaptations. Like many other large canids, it was most likely a pack hunter. It hunted the medium-sized grazers and browsers, and bite marks on fossils suggest that it may have hunted ''

Glyptotherium ''Glyptotherium'' (from Greek for 'grooved or carved beast') is a genus of glyptodont (an extinct group of large, herbivorous armadillos) that lived from the Early Pliocene, about 4.9 million years ago, to the Early Holocene, around 7,000 years ...

''. The find of a molar tooth found in

Santa Vitória do Palmar Santa Vitória do Palmar (lit. "Saint Victoria of the Palms") is a Brazilian city and municipality. It is the southernmost municipality in Brazil, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. To the west of the municipality is the Lagoa Mirim a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

suggests a weight of between for this particular specimen. , modest in size compared to other canids including the dire wolf, despite its modest size isotopic analysis shows a dietary overlap with Smilodon populator, which implies it actively hunted much larger prey animals since S. populator weighed at least 400kg.

Taxonomy

''Protocyon'' was named by Giebel in 1855 and assigned to Canidae by Carroll in 1988. A member of the Cerdocyonina lineage, its closest living relative might be the

bush dog The bush dog (''Speothos venaticus'') is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first identified by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossil ...

Fossil distribution

Fossils of ''Protocyon'' have been found in the Ñuapua and Tarija Formations of

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, the Vorohue Formation of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

, Santa Elena Peninsula of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

, Sopas Formation of

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Mene de Inciarte Tar Seep The moonfish of the genus ''Mene'', the sole extant genus of the family Menidae, are disk-shaped fish which bear a vague resemblance to gourami, thanks to their thread-like pelvic fins. Today, the genus is represented only by '' Mene maculata' ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

and various sites in

, among others the Jandaíra Formation. Canid fossil material from the Hoyo Negro pit in the Sac Actun cave system (

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

), initially identified as remains of a

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans'') is a species of canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological ni ...

, was reinterpreted as remains of ''Protocyon troglodytes'' by ', indicating that this taxon was also present in the southern part of North America.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q142407 Cerdocyonina Prehistoric canines Prehistoric carnivoran genera Pleistocene carnivorans Pleistocene mammals of South America Pleistocene mammals of North America Lujanian Pleistocene Argentina Fossils of Argentina Pleistocene Bolivia Fossils of Bolivia Pleistocene Brazil Fossils of Brazil Pleistocene Ecuador Fossils of Ecuador Pleistocene Mexico Fossils of Mexico Pleistocene Uruguay Fossils of Uruguay Pleistocene Venezuela Fossils of Venezuela Fossil taxa described in 1855