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Late Tertiary canids from central Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Wade E. Miller  and
Oscar Carranza-Castañeda
Wade E. Miller
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602
Oscar Carranza-Castañeda
Affiliation:
Instituto de Geología, Departamento de Paleontología, Universidad Autónoma de México, México 20, D. F. 04510
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Abstract

Although relatively numerous accounts of late Tertiary canids have been reported from the western United States, records from Mexico are scarce. The three genera and species described and discussed in this paper come from Hemphillian and Blancan age deposits located in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. All specimens were collected within a stratigraphic context. One taxon, Borophagus diversidens, was recovered from Blancan age deposits, while both Osteoborus cyonoides and a new species of Canis, C. ferox, came from deposits of Hemphillian age. This new species of Canis appears to be directly ancestral to the extinct C. lepophagus, long considered the forerunner of the modern coyote, C. latrans. The new Mexican canid also appears to be the earliest true Canis yet reported.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 72 , Issue 3 , May 1998 , pp. 546 - 556
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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