Nyctereutes

Nyctereutes
Temporal range: 5.332–0 Ma Late Miocene - recent
Common and Japanese raccoon dog
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Subfamily: Caninae
Genus: Nyctereutes
Temminck, 1838
Type species
Canis viverrinus
Temminck, 1838
Species

N. procyonoides
N. viverrinus

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 (Nyctereutes viverrinus). Nyctereutes first entered the fossil record 5.5 million years ago (Mya) in northern China. It was one of the earliest canines to arrive in the Old World. All but two species became extinct before the end of the Pleistocene. A study suggests that the evolution of Nyctereutes was influenced by environmental and climatic changes, such as the expansion and contraction of forests and the fluctuations of temperature and precipitation.

Nyctereutes megamastoides fossil skull

Characteristics

They are typically recognized by their short snouts, round crania and the shaping of their molars, specifically the ratio between M1 and M2. Nyctereutes is considered mainly an opportunistic carnivore, feeding on small mammals, fish, birds, and insects, alongside occasional plants, specifically roots. Their diet is mostly influenced by environmental factors. Japanese raccoon dogs are considered distinct from the mainland species because of the larger skull size found in Russian and Hokkaido raccoon dogs.

Species

Extant species

Image Scientific name Distribution
Nyctereutes procyonoides Mongolia, Russian Far East, China, Korea, Vietnam; introduced to Europe
Nyctereutes viverrinus Japan

Fossil species

  • Nyctereutes abdeslami 3.6—1.8 Mya (Morocco)
  • Nyctereutes donnezani 9.0—3.4 Mya (Eastern Europe, Spain)
  • Nyctereutes lockwoodi 3.42—3.2 Mya (Ethiopia)
  • Nyctereutes megamastoides (Europe)
  • Nyctereutes sinensis 3.6 Mya—781,000 years ago (Eastern Asia)
  • Nyctereutes tingi
  • Nyctereutes vinetorum[citation needed]



This page was last updated at 2023-09-19 03:49 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari