The Sardinian dhole (''Cynotherium sardous'') is an extinct
insular canid which was
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to what is now the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
islands of
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
(
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
) and
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
(
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
), which were joined for much of the
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
. It went extinct when humans began to settle on the island.
Its scientific name means "dog-beast of Sardinia", the
genus name from the and and the
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
from the , alt. form of .
![Cynotherium sardous restoration](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Cynotherium_sardous_restoration.jpg)
The oldest fossils of the ''Cynotherium'' lineage on Sardinia, belonging to the species ''Cynotherium malatestai'' likely ancestral to ''C. sardous'' date to the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition, corresponding to faunal turnover between the older ''
Nesogoral'' Faunal Complex and the younger ''
Microtus'' (''
Tyrrhenicola'') faunal complex.
The genomic analysis of a 21,000 year-old Sardinian dhole specimen indicates that the Sardinian dhole lineage and the
Asian dhole lineage diverged from each other 885,000 years ago. Gene flow continued between the two lineages until between 500,000 and 300,000 years ago. The analysis showed low genomic diversity which may have led to the extinction of this dhole.
[
When the ancestor of this canid became confined to the island, its diet became limited to small and fast prey, such as rodents and rabbits. This lack of large prey caused the Sardinian dhole to evolve into a small sized (perhaps ) canid. This view of ''Cynotherium'' as a predator specializing in small, fast prey is supported by an examination of the animal's anatomy. The evolution of short, powerful limbs, a low neck carriage and increased head and neck mobility suggests an animal well suited for stalking and then quickly pouncing on or running down small prey.][PDF copy]
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See also
* List of extinct animals of Europe
* Insular dwarfism
* Corsican red deer
The Corsican red deer (''Cervus elaphus corsicanus''), also known simply as the Corsican deer or Sardinian deer, is a population of red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') found on the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia (Italy) and Corsica (France).
Chara ...
References
External links
ISPRA
Photo of ''Cynotherium sardous''
Canina (subtribe)
Prehistoric mammals of Europe
Fauna of Corsica
Fauna of Sardinia
Extinct mammals of Europe
Pleistocene carnivorans
Pleistocene extinctions
Extinct canines
Fossil taxa described in 1857
Mammals described in 1857
{{Paleo-carnivora-stub