Canis ferox

Canis ferox (Latin: canis: dog, ferox: fierce; hence fierce dog) is a species of canid which was endemic to North America and lived during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene,[1] existing for approximately 5 million years. The first fossil was found in Rancho Viejo, Guanajuato (Mexico). Researchers estimated that their weight could be between 13.3 kg and 14.3 kg, based on the Legendre and Roth correlations.[2] Paleontologists Miller and Carranza-Castaneda noted that their skull resembled that of an ancestral coyote, Canis lepophagus. However, this species had other characteristics similar to Eucyon davisi, belonging to a different genus of canids. These characteristics suggest that Canis ferox marks the beginning of the cladogenesis of the genus Canis.

Canis ferox
Temporal range: Late Miocene to Early Pliocene, 10.9–5.8 Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species:
C. ferox
Binomial name
Canis ferox
Miller and Carranza-Castaneda 1998

References
  1. PaleoBiology Database: Canis ferox
  2. Legendre, S., S.; Roth, C. (1988). Correlation of carnassial tooth size and body weight in recent carnivores (Mammalia). Historical Biology 1. pp. 85–98.CS1 maint: location (link)


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