Lycaon (genus)
Not to be confused with Canis lupus lycaon.
| Lycaon | |
|---|---|
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| Dogs of the genus Lycaon eat mostly meat. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Caniformia |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Tribe: | Canini |
| Genus: | Lycaon Brookes, 1827 |
| Species | |
|
L. pictus (Temminck, 1820) | |
Lycaon is a genus of canid. There are two known species: Lycaon pictus, a canid with common names including "African wild dog", "painted dog", "ornate wolf", and "African hunting dog"; and Lycaon sekowei, an extinct species known only from skeletal remains. This hypercarnivorous and highly cursorial genus is distinguished by accessory cusps on the premolars. It branched off from the wolf-like canids during the Plio-Pleistocene. Since then, Lycaon has become lighter and tetradactyl, but have remained hypercarnivorous.[1]
See also
- Lycaon (Arcadia), a figure from Greek mythology who was transformed into a wolf
References
- ↑ Hartstone-Rose, A.; Werdelin, L.; De Ruiter, D. J.; Berger, L. R.; Churchill, S. E. (2010). "The Plio-Pleistocene Ancestor of Wild Dogs, Lycaon sekowei n. sp". Journal of Paleontology 84 (2): 299–308. doi:10.1666/09-124.1.
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