''Mececyon trinilensis'', the Trinil dog, is an extinct

canid 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 withi ...

species that lived in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

during the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological 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 finally confirmed in ...

Description

The body size of ''Mececyon trinilensis'' been estimated to be about 22 kg. This size is the result of insular dwarfism.

Habitat and ecology

''Mececyon trinilensis'' is endemic to the island of

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

. It was part of the Pleistocene Trinil Fauna of Java. Other animals of this Faunal assemblage were '' Bos palaesondaicus'', the Indian muntjak (''Muntiacus muntjak''), '' Bubalus palaeokerabau'', the

Dubois santeng ''Duboisia santeng'' or Dubois' antelope is an extinct antelope-like bovid that was endemic to Indonesia during the Pleistocene. It went extinct during the Ionian stage of the Pleistocene, about 750.000 years ago. ''Duboisia santeng'' was first d ...

and ''

Stegodon ''Stegodon'' ("roofed tooth" from the Ancient Greek words , , 'to cover', + , , 'tooth' because of the distinctive ridges on the animal's molars) is an extinct genus of proboscidean, related to elephants. It was originally assigned to the fami ...

trigonocephalus''. Other predators of the Trinil Fauna were the

Trinil tiger ''Panthera tigris trinilensis'', known as the Trinil tiger, is an extinct tiger subspecies dating from about 1.2 million years ago that was found at the locality of Trinil, Java, Indonesia. The fossil remains are now stored in the Dubois Collect ...

(''Panthera tigris trinilensis'') and the

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a small wild cat native to continental South, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely distributed although threatened by hab ...

(''Prionailurus bengalensis'').Christine Hertler/ Yan Rizal (2005): Excursion guide to the Pleistocene Hominid Sites in Central and East Java, Johann Wolfgang Geothe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany/ ITB, Bandung, Indonesia It has been estimated that ''Mececyon trinilensis'' hunted prey of 1 kg to 10 kg, preferably 5 kg in size. However this number could vary, because it is yet unknown if the ''Mececyon trinilensis'' hunted in packs, or if carrion left over by the Trinil tiger influenced its feeding habits.

Evolution

''Mececyon trinilensis'' probably evolved from '' Xenocyon lycanoides'', like the larger Indonesian Merriam's dog (''

Megacyon merriami ''Megacyon merriami'', or Merriam's dog, was a prehistoric canid that lived in the early/middle Pleistocene (about 800-300 thousand years ago). Its fossilized remains have been found on the island of Java. Its scientific name means "Merriam's lar ...

'') and the

Sardinian dhole The Sardinian dhole (''Cynotherium sardous'') is an extinct insular canid which was endemic to what is now the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia (Italy) and Corsica (France), which were joined for much of the Pleistocene. It went extinct when ...

(''Cynotherium sardous''). Its closest living relatives are the

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

(''Lycaon pictus)'' and the

dhole The dhole (''Cuon alpinus''; ) is a canid native to Central, South, East and Southeast Asia. Other English names for the species include Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, red wolf, and mountain wolf. It ...

(''Cuon alpinus''). The Trinil dog went extinct in the course of the Pleistocene. There is currently no evidence that this species survived into the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3853467 Prehistoric canines Pleistocene mammals of Asia Extinct animals of Indonesia