Dusicyon avus

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Dusicyon avus
Temporal range:
Ma
Artistic reconstruction

Extinct (1464–1636) (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Dusicyon
Species:
D. avus
Binomial name
Dusicyon avus
Synonyms
  • Canis avus
  • Canis platensis Mercerat 1891

Dusicyon avus is an

German shepherd.[2] It was closely related to the Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis), which descended from a population of D. avus.[3]
It appears to have survived until very recently, perhaps 400 years ago.

Range

Dusicyon avus range extended through the Pampas and Patagonia in the south-central and southern parts of South America, with an estimated range of around 762 351 km². Its fossils have been found in the Luján Formation of Argentina, the Chui Formation of Brazil, the Milodón Cave in Chile and the Sopas Formation of Uruguay.[4]

Diet and ecology

Its diet seems to have been more carnivorous than extant foxes based on δ13C and δ15N values, probably mostly preying on small mammals but also scavenging on large carcasses.[5] This is in contrast the warrah, whose diet was restricted to the seabirds and seal pups available on the Falkland Islands. Morphologically, D. avus and D. australis are most similar to jackals, suggesting a similar ecological niche.[6]

Relationship to humans

A grave of the late second millennium BCE at Loma de los Muertos in General Conesa, Río Negro Argentina contains a sub-adult D. avus, buried in a human mortuary context in a comparable manner to adjacent human burials. It may have been kept as a pet and been considered part of the human social group.[7]

Extinction

Dating of extinction

Dusicyon avus, according to earlier estimates,

BCE,[8] with possibilities that it became extinct as recently as 500 – 300 years BP.[1] Recent research confirms more recent dates, with the last appearance datum in the Pampean Region being 700 BP (1232–1397 AD) and southernmost Patagonia at 400 years BP (1454–1626 AD).[9]

Ona were recorded as recognizing two varieties of foxes, one of which grew to unusual size.[10] If the "big fox" was D. avus, this would indicate that it survived until the 20th century, at least in this location.[11] In 1871 George Musters wrote a description of encountering a fox in Patagonia similar to a warrah, which may have been an account of this species.[12]

Reasons for extinction

The extinction of D. avus as opposed to the

Quaternary extinction event. There is no compelling evidence that climatic change was the cause of the extinction, nor any evidence that hybridisation with domestic dogs was the cause, as the skull morphology and DNA is consistent from the Late Pleistocene through the Holocene.[9] Dusicyon was used for ritual purposes by aboriginal peoples in the Late Holocene, and appears to have a high symbolic value[13] and its remains, usually teeth, are found in many archaeological sites.[14] D. avus, despite its wide range, has a low genetic diversity in tested samples, suggesting a possible low population or genetic bottleneck before extinction.[3][9] It is likely that a combination of both climatic and anthropogenic factors was the cause of their demise.[9]

References

  1. ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Dusicyon avus". Encyclopedia of Life. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017.
  3. ^
    PMID 23462995
    .
  4. ^ "Dusicyon avus". Fossilworks.org.
  5. ISSN 1040-6182
    .
  6. .
  7. ^ Luciano Prates. "Crossing the boundary between humans and animals: the extinct fox Dusicyon avus from a hunter-gatherer mortuary context in Patagonia (Argentina)". Antiquity. 88 (342): 1201–1212.
  8. .
  9. ^ .
  10. ^ C.R. Gallardo (1910). Los onas. Buenos Aires: Cabault y Cia.
  11. .
  12. archive.org
    .
  13. ^ Bonomo, M. (2006). "Un acercamiento a la dimensión simbólica de la cultura material en la Región Pampeana". Relaciones de la Sociedad Argentina de Antropología. 31: 89–115.
  14. ^ "Periodo Holoceno". PaleoArgentina. Retrieved 2 October 2014.