| Hesperocyoninae Temporal range: Late Eocene–Middle Miocene |
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|---|---|
| Skull of Mesocyon coryphaeus | |
| Conservation status | |
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Fossil
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | †Hesperocyoninae |
| Genera | |
Hesperocyoninae is a subfamily of extinct canids.
Hesperocyoninae was named by Martin (1989). The members of this subfamily were reassigned to the family Canidae (with no subfamily) by Xiaoming Wang in 1999.[1]
Hesperocyoninae are basal canids that gave rise to the other canid groups, including the Borophaginae and Caninae according to Wang and Tedford.
This disused subfamily were endemic to North America living from the Duchesnean stage of the Late Eocene through the early Barstovian stage of the Miocene lasting around 20 million years. It comprises a total of 10 recognized genera and 26 recognized species; among these, 4 genera and 8 species are new. Four major lineages can be defined based on shared characteristics:
The Caedocyon probably forms a distinct clade of its own.
Hesperocyon is possibly ancestral to many of the lineages and lacks the shared derived characters which would included it within any of the aforementioned clades. There is evidence that the Paraenhydrocyon clade may be directly descendant from Hesperocyon H. gregarius. According to Xiaoming Wang, Hesperocyon H. coloradensis provides an important link between H. gregarius and the Mesocyon-Enhydrocyon clade.
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