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A critical review of A frican species of E ucyon ( M ammalia; C arnivora; C anidae), with a new species from the P liocene of the W oranso‐ M ille A rea, A far R egion, E thiopia
Author(s) -
Werdelin Lars,
Lewis Margaret E.,
HaileSelassie Yohannes
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
papers in palaeontology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.827
H-Index - 15
ISSN - 2056-2802
DOI - 10.1002/spp2.1001
Subject(s) - taxon , zoology , genus , geography , biology , ecology
E ucyon is a paraphyletic genus of jackal‐sized canids that predated the appearance of true C anis in N orth A merica, E urasia and A frica. In this study, we describe a new species of E ucyon , E . kuta , from the W oranso‐ M ille A rea, Afar Region, Ethiopia. The new species differs from all other described Eucyon in having the distal cusps of the p4 united into a crest. It may be the youngest Eucyon known from Africa and is larger than described Eucyon from that continent. Other described African E ucyon are briefly reviewed, and we suggest that some material may be referable to foxes ( V ulpini), while other material may belong to the small bear‐dog B onisicyon illacabo ( A mphicyonidae) or a closely related taxon.