''Protocyon'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of large

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 ...

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 west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and

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 ...

from Middle to

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division ...

living from 781 to 12thousand years ago.

Description

''Protocyon'' was a

hypercarnivore A hypercarnivore is an animal that 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 exampl ...

, 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''. The find of a molar tooth found in Santa Vitória do Palmar in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

suggests a weight of between for this particular specimen. , modest in size compared to other canids including the dire wolf. However, despite its size, isotopic analysis shows a dietary overlap with '' Smilodon populator'', which implies it competed with the sabertooth cat for the same prey.

Taxonomy

''Protocyon'' was named by Giebel in 1855 and assigned to Canidae by Carroll in 1988. One taxonomic authority proposes that the species '' Theriodictis tarijensis'' falls under the genus ''Protocyon''. 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 described by Peter Wilhelm Lund from fossils ...

Palaeobiology

The diet of ''P. troglodytes'' included '' Notiomastodon platensis'', '' Megatherium americanum'', '' Toxodon platensis'', '' Hippidion principale'', and '' Equus neogeus''. In contrast to its contemporary carnivores ''S. populator'' and ''Arctotherium wingei'', dental stable isotope evidence shows ''P. troglodytes'' in the Brazilian Intertropical Region (BIR) had a preference for open savanna environments.

Fossil distribution

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

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, the Vorohue Formation of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, Santa Elena Peninsula of

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, Sopas Formation of

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

, Mene de Inciarte Tar Seep of

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

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, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

), initially identified as remains of a

coyote The coyote (''Canis latrans''), also known as the American jackal, prairie wolf, or brush wolf, is a species of canis, canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the Wolf, gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the c ...

, was reinterpreted as remains of ''P. 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