The Sardinian dhole (''Cynotherium sardous'') is an extinct
insular 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 within the ...
which was
endemic to what is now the
Mediterranean islands of
Sardinia (
Italy) 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 o ...
(
France), which were joined for much of the
Pleistocene. 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 from the , alt. form of .
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
''Microtus'' is a genus of voles found in North America, Europe and northern Asia. The genus name refers to the small ears of these animals. About 62 species are placed in the genus. They are stout rodents with short ears, legs and tails. They e ...
'' (''
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]
/ref>
See also
* List of extinct animals of Europe
This list of European animals extinct in the Holocene features animals known to have become extinct in the last 12,000 years on the European continent and its surrounding islands.
Dependent territories of European countries in other continents, ...
* Insular dwarfism
Insular dwarfism, a form of phyletic dwarfism, is the process and condition of large animals evolving or having a reduced body size when their population's range is limited to a small environment, primarily islands. This natural process is disti ...
* 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).
Cha ...
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