| European dhole | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeletal remains dating back to upperWürm period from Cova del Parpalló, Gandía,Valencia,Spain | |
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| Life restoration | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Cuon |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | |
| Trinomial name | |
| †Cuon alpinus europaeus Bourguignat, 1868 | |
TheEuropean dhole (Cuon alpinus europaeus) was apaleosubspecies of thedhole, which ranged throughout much ofWestern andCentral Europe during theMiddle andLate Pleistocene. Like the modern Asiatic populations, it was a more progressive form than other prehistoric members of the genusCuon, having transformed its lower molar tooth into a single cusped slicer. It was virtually indistinguishable from its modern counterpart, save for its greater size, which closely approached that of thegray wolf.[1]
Cuon alpinus priscus Thenius 1954 was the first member of genusCuon to be identified in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene. This was followed byCuon alpinus fossilis Nehring 1890, thenCuon alpinus europaeus Bourguignat 1868 during the Middle andLate Pleistocene. The descent is thought to beC. a. priscus→C. a. fossilis→C. a. europaeus. In comparison,Cuon alpinus antiquus Colbert & Hooijer 1953 was active in the Middle Pleistocene of China, andCuon alpinus caucasicus Baryshnikov 1996 was active in the Late Pleistocene of theCaucasus.[2]
The European dhole became extinct in much of Europe during the lateWürm period,[1] though it may have survived in theIberian Peninsula until the earlyHolocene.[3]
Between 650–450 thousand years ago in Europe, the open lands were dominated byLycaon lycaonoides, whileCuon alpinus priscus preferred forests, highlands, and mountains. The early small wolfCanis mosbachensis coexisted in all of these environments. Between 480–430 thousand years ago the number and range ofL. lycaonoides began to fall, and it became extinct across Eurasia between 450– 400 thousand years ago. Between 400–300 thousand years ago, the dhole and the wolf were still similar in size, but the wolf was slowly getting bigger. Between 300–250 thousand years ago, the wolf took over the dominant niche which had once been occupied byL. lycaonoides. Due to competition with the wolf,C. alpinus then decreased in body size and adapted to hunting and living in forests, highlands, and mountains.[4]
The European dhole is known directly to have interacted with humans in the Iberian Peninsula. Evidence for this comes from symbolically arranged bones from aGravettian site inAsturias.[5]
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