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There is a rather striking resemblance between the appearance of any extant member of family Canidae (the group of carnivores closely related to and including dogs) and the long-ago extinct Miacis, the common ancestor of terrestrial predators. Thus, the Canidae show ancient anatomical features, or rather they are similar to the ancient form. This does not mean that the shape and functions of dogs and their closest relatives are obsoleteâthe high number of species still existing testifies just the opposite: The ancient form is still successful.
ORIGINS ON THE AMERICAN CONTINENT
The history of carnivorous mammals started about 55 million years ago (mya), not so long after the last of the great dinosaurs had disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous. Interestingly, Miacis emerged in North Americaâand the larger part of the evolution of Canidae also happened there. In the Paleocene (about 50 mya) the two main divisions of carnivores diverged, forming the catlike feliforms and the wolflike caniforms.
Toward the end of the Paleocene, about 34 mya, the Caninae subfamily appeared, and this would become the only surviving subfamily of the Canidaeâand the ancestor of all the extant species of foxes, jackals, and wolves. The secret for their success may be that they were not overtly restricted to the hypercarnivorous (âmeat onlyâ) diet of other subfamilies, which became extinct because of their narrow ecological tolerance of environmental changes.
Canids can look considerably different. The maned wolf is the tallest of all (3 feet/0.9 m at the withers). The stocky bush dog is no bigger than a dachshund. Both live in South America.
The Miacis, a primitive carnivore, populated both Eurasia and the North American continent about 55-33 million years ago. Animals like this were the ancestors of extant canids, bears, and weasels.
âCANINE RADIATIONâ & THE COLONIZATION OF OTHER CONTINENTS
The evolution of early canids continued on the North American continent through the whole Oligocene until the second half of the Miocene. The so-called âCanine radiationâ was an evolutionary âexplosionâ about 11 mya, when three major forms of canidsâthe wolflike Canis, the foxlike Vulpes, and the also foxlike Urocyon generaâappeared and became abundant in southwest North America (9â10 mya). Their success was hallmarked by the evolution of carnassialsâa paired set of scissor-like molars and premolars in the upper and lower jaws, allowing the animal to perform an effective shearing biteâthus a better utilization of food.
These âmodernâ canids were those forms that left the North American cradle of terrestrial predatorsâfirst, about 8 mya through the temporarily available Beringian land bridge (between Alaska and the Kamchatka peninsula) toward Eurasia and Africa. Most extant species of wolves, jackals, and foxes evolved in the Old World after this exodus. The second major radiation of Canidae took place at about 3 mya, when the Isthmus of Panama formed. This allowed some of the North American species to invade South America, where, besides the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), endemic species evolved such as the bush dog (Speothos venaticus) and the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus).
The first canids emerged in North America about 40 mya. Their descendants arrived in Eurasia only around 8 mya. Closer relatives of dogs (genus Canis) evolved in the Old World. Wol...
