''Ferrucyon'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nutri ...

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Canidae Canidae (; from Latin, ''canis'', "dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (). There are three subfamilies found within th ...

, which inhabited

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

during the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Blancan The Blancan North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology (NALMA), typically set from 4,750,000 to 1,806,000 years Before Present, BP, a period of .

in the NALMA classification, from about 4.9 to approximately 2.6 Ma. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

, ''F. avius'', was originally interpreted as a relative of the modern

crab-eating fox The crab-eating fox (''Cerdocyon thous''), also known as the forest fox, wood fox, bushdog (not to be confused with the bush dog) or maikong, is an extant species of medium-sized canid endemic to the central part of South America since at least ...

, and described as a species belonging to the genus ''Cerdocyon''. Ruiz-Ramoni ''et al.'' (2020) reinterpreted it as a

vulpine Vulpini is a taxonomic rank which represents the fox-like Tribe (biology), tribe of the subfamily Caninae (the canines), and is sister to the dog-like tribe Canini (tribe), Canini. Genera Taxonomy The taxonomy of Carnivora in general and Canid ...

canid related to North American species ''

Metalopex ''Metalopex'' is an extinct hypocarnivorous canid mammal similar to ''Vulpes'' endemic to Late Miocene North America. Its sister taxon is the extant ''Urocyon''; together, the two genera form a clade based on dentition. These same dental cha ...

macconnelli'', and to the Eurasian genus ''

Nyctereutes ''Nyctereutes'' (Greek: ''nyx, nykt-'' "night" + ''ereutēs'' "wanderer") is a genus of canid which includes only two extant species both known as raccoon dogs; the common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides'') and the Japanese raccoon dog (' ...

''. This reinterpretation necessitated removal of ''"Cerdocyon" avius'' from the genus ''Cerdocyon'', and Ruiz-Ramoni ''et al.'' (2020) transferred it to the separate genus ''Ferrucyon''.

Taxonomy

''Cerdocyon'' was named by Hamilton-Smith (1839). It was assigned to Canidae by Hamilton-Smith (1839) and Carroll (1988).R. L. Carroll. 1988. Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. W.H. Freeman and Company ''F. avius'' was about long. Fossils of the species have been found in

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

(

Refugio Formation Refugio ("Refuge") may refer to: Places: *Refugio County, Texas *Refugio, Texas, a town in Refugio County *Refugio State Beach, near Santa Barbara, California *Refugio Canyon, a region near Santa Barbara, California * Refugio Creek, a river runnin ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2712794 Vulpini Prehistoric canines Pleistocene carnivorans Pleistocene species extinctions Pleistocene mammals of North America Blancan Pleistocene Mexico Fossils of Mexico Fossil taxa described in 2020