Eucyon

Name: Eucyon ‭(‬Original dog‭)‬.
Phonetic: Yew-sy-on.
Named By: Merriam‭ ‬-‭ ‬1911.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Mammalia,‭ ‬Carnivora,‭ ‬Caniformia,‭ ‬Canidae.
Species: E.‭ ‬davisi‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬adoxus,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬ciple,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬intrepidus,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬marinae,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬minor,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬monticinensis,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬odessanus,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬wokari,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬zhoui.
Diet: Carnivore/Omnivore.
Size: Around‭ ‬8.5‭ ‬to‭ ‬9‭ ‬kilograms,‭ ‬possibly heavier.‭ ‬40‭ ‬centimetres tall at the shoulder.‭ ‬Skull up to‭ ‬20‭ ‬centimetres long.‭ ‬Exact size depends upon the species.
Known locations: China.‭ ‬Canada‭ ‬-‭ ‬Northwest Territories.‭ ‬Ethiopia.‭ ‬France.‭ ‬Italy.‭ ‬Kazakhstan.‭ ‬Kenya.‭ ‬Mongolia.‭ ‬Ukraine.‭ ‬USA‭ ‬-‭ ‬Arizona,‭ ‬Nevada,‭ ‬Nebraska,‭ ‬New Mexico,‭ ‬Oklahoma,‭ ‬Oregon,‭ ‬Washington,‭ ‬Wyoming and Texas.
Time period: Tortonian of the Miocene to the early Zanclean of the Pliocene.
Fossil representation: Multiple individuals.

       A relatively small canid,‭ ‬Eucyon is one of the earliest true dogs to enter the fossil record.‭ ‬Living during the late Miocene it would have been in competition with larger and more dangerous predators such as the amphicyonids,‭ ‬however Eucyon and its relatives were better adapted to the on-going climatic changes of the Miocene.‭ ‬The earliest species of Eucyon such as E.‭ ‬davisi first appear in North America and parts of Asia during the Miocene,‭ ‬while later species of the late Miocene and early Pliocene are known from as far away as Europe and Africa.‭ ‬Although Eucyon would disappear at the beginning of the Pliocene,‭ ‬the true dogs would go onto become one of the dominant predator types all the way into modern times.




Further reading
- A new canid genus from the Pliocene of Yushe, Shanxi Province. - Vertebrata PalAsiatica (Gujizhui Dongwu Xuebao) 34(1):27-40. - R. H. Tedford & Z. Qiu - 1996.
- The wide ranging genus Eucyon Tedford & Qiu, 1996 (Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae, Canini) in the Mio-Pliocene of the Old World. - Geodiversitas. 31 (4): 723–741. - Lorenzo Rook - 2009.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Random favourites