Abstract

AbstractUnlike the Asian and North American Pliocene record, fossil occurrences of Canidae in Europe (and Africa) are uncommon and fragmentary. The revision of canid material from the late Pliocene site of Kvabebi (eastern Georgia) revealed the contemporaneous occurrence of three different taxa: (1)Nyctereutes megamastoides(a derived species of the Eurasian Pliocene raccoon dog-like canids); (2)Vulpescf.V.alopecoides(representing the first occurrence of a member of the vulpine taxonV.alopecoides, a species that was the most widespread fox in the early Pleistocene in western Europe); and (3)Eucyonsp. The latter occurrence at Kvabebi completes our knowledge of the late Pliocene evolutionary history of the latest representatives of the genus in Western Europe and Central Asia. Our revision of Kvabebi canids registers a previously undocumented case of established niche partitioning among early Pliocene sympatric Canidae.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.