Megacyon

Merriam's dog; Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	†Megacyon; von Koenigswald, 1940
Species:	†M. merriami
Binomial name
	†Megacyon merriami;

Megacyon merriami, or Merriam's dog, was a prehistoric canid that lived in the early/middle Pleistocene (about 800-300 thousand years ago). Its fossilized remains have been found on the island of Java. Its scientific name means "Merriam's large dog".

Description[]

The fossil remains of this canid are incomplete, hence they do not provide an accurate reconstruction. The species appears to have been diverged from Xenocyon, along with the African wild dog, Sardinian dhole and Mececyon trinilensis, another extinct Javanese canid. The Merriam's dog had a set of strong, robust teeth. Its size probably exceeded that of the extant African wild dog.

References[]

Schutt, 1973. Pleistozane Caniden (Carnivora, Mammalia) aus Java. Verhandelingen Koninklijke Akademie van der Wetenschappen (Series B), 76: 446–71.
Lyras G.A., Van der Geer A.A.E., Rook L., 2010. Body size of insular carnivores: evidence from the fossil record. Journal of Biogeography, 37 (6): 1007–21.

This canid article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .