Vulpes riffautae

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Vulpes riffautae[1]
Fossil range: late Miocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Vulpes
Species: V. riffautae
Binomial name
Vulpes riffautae
de Bonis et al., 2007

Vulpes riffautae is an extinct species of fox from the late Miocene of Chad (approximately 7 ma). Fossils of V. riffautae potentially represent the earliest record of the dog family (Canidae) in the Old World.[1] V. riffautae was intermediate in size between the Rüppell's Fox (Vulpes rueppellii) and Fennec Fox (V. zerda).

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b De Bonis, L.; Peigné, S.; Likius, A.; MacKaye, H.T.; Vignaud, P.; Brunet, M. (2007). "The oldest African fox (Vulpes riffautae n. sp., Canidae, Carnivora) recovered in late Miocene deposits of the Djurab desert, Chad". Naturwissenschaften 94 (7): 575-580. 
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