''Nurocyon'' is an extinct member of the

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

family ( Canidae) from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

. ''Nurocyon chonokhariensis'' is the only

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

. The teeth of ''Nurocyon'' show adaptations to an

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 nut ...

diet, comparable to the living

raccoon dog The common raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes procyonoides''), also called the Chinese or Asian raccoon dog, is a small, heavy-set, fox-like canid native to East Asia. Named for its raccoon-like face markings, it is most closely related to foxes. Common ...

(''Nyctereutes procyonoides''). The overall structure of the

skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

and dentition of ''Nurocyon'' are intermediate between the living genus ''

Canis ''Canis'' is a genus of the Caninae which includes multiple extant species, such as wolves, dogs, coyotes, and golden jackals. Species of this genus are distinguished by their moderate to large size, their massive, well-developed skulls and de ...

'' (dogs, wolves, and jackals) and the more primitive ''

Eucyon ''Eucyon'' (Greek: : good, true; : dog) is an extinct genus of medium omnivorous coyote-like canid that first appeared in the Western United States during the late Middle Miocene 10 million years ago. It was the size of a jackal and weighed ...

''.

References

Canini (tribe) Prehistoric canines Pliocene carnivorans Pliocene mammals of Asia Prehistoric monotypic mammal genera Fossil taxa described in 2006 Prehistoric carnivoran genera {{canid-stub