| Canis lepophagus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Species: | †C. lepophagus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Canis lepophagus Johnston (1938)[1] | |
 | |
| Range ofCanis lepophagus based on fossil distribution | |
Canis lepophagus (Latin:canis: 'dog';lepus: 'hare' or 'rabbit'; suffix-phagus: '-eating'; hence hare-eating dog) is an extinctspecies ofcanid which was endemic to much ofNorth America during theEarly Pliocene.[2] It is notable because its lineage is proposed to have led to both wolves and coyotes.
Kurten proposed that theBlancanC. lepophagus derived from smallerMioceneCanis species in North America. It then became widespread across Eurasia where it was either identical to, or closely related with,C. arnensis of Europe.[3]: p241 [4][5]Wang proposed a linear progression fromEucyon davisi toC. lepophagus to the coyote.[2]: p58
Johnston describesC. lepophagus as having a more slender skull and skeleton than in the modern coyote.[1]: 385 Nowak found that the early populations had small, delicate and narrowly proportioned skulls that resemble small coyotes and appear to be ancestral toC. latrans.[3]: p241 Johnson noted that some specimens found in Cita Canyon, Texas had larger, broader skulls,[1] and along with other fragments Nowak suggested that these were evolving into wolves.[3]: p241 [6]
Tedford disagreed with previous authors and found that its cranio-dental morphology lacked some characteristics that are shared byC. lupus andC. latrans, and therefore there was not a close relationship but it did suggestC. lepophagus was the ancestor of both wolves and coyotes.[7]: p119 Additionally,C. edwardii,C. latrans andC. aureus form together a small clade and becauseC. edwardii appeared earliest spanning the mid-Blancan (late Pliocene) to the close of the Irvingtonian (late Pleistocene)C. edwardii is proposed as the descendant ofC. lepophagus and the ancestor of the coyote and the golden jackal.[2]: p58 [7]: p175, 180
The first fossil record was found in Cita Canyon, Texas. Subsequent discoveries of specimens were found in four otherTexas sites,Tonuco Mountain,New Mexico, westernWashington[8]Santa Fe River, Florida,[9] Black Ranch in northernCalifornia, sites inNebraska,Idaho,Utah, andOklahoma.
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