Beyond the Wolf: Eleven Dog Genera Across Four Continents

Lycaon holds one living species, the African wild dog, plus two extinct species including Lycaon sekowei from the early Pleistocene of South Africa. Its lighter four-toed build and premolar cusps suit endurance running and pack hunting on the savanna.

The black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal were long placed in Canis. A 2017 review found DNA evidence that they form a distinct lineage, and the American Society of Mammalogists adopted the genus Lupulella.

Otocyon contains only the bat-eared fox, the one canid considered truly insectivorous. It feeds mainly on harvester termites and has 46 to 50 blunted teeth and ears 11 to 13 centimeters long.

Cuon holds the dhole, native to South, East and Southeast Asia. It differs from Canis in its convex skull profile, in lacking a third lower molar and in having six rather than seven lower molars.

Nyctereutes holds the raccoon dogs, two living species alongside eight extinct ones. The genus began in northern China about 5.5 million years ago, and raccoon dogs have been introduced across Europe.

Chrysocyon holds only the maned wolf, the largest canid in South America at 20 to 30 kilograms. Despite the name it is neither a true wolf nor a fox, and it forms a distinct lineage.

Speothos holds the bush dog, with an extinct Pleistocene species also known from fossils. Molecular data tie it to the maned wolf, and its teeth show hypercarnivorous changes like those of the dhole and African wild dog.

Atelocynus holds the short-eared dog of the Amazon basin, with partly webbed paws suited to a partly aquatic habitat. It is an elusive solitary animal listed as near threatened by the IUCN.

Cerdocyon holds the crab-eating fox, which forages for crabs on muddy floodplains in the wet season and also eats rodents, birds, insects and fruit. Its closest living relative is thought to be the short-eared dog.

Lycalopex, the South American foxes or zorros, are not true foxes but a lineage closer to wolves and jackals. Their fox-like look comes from convergent evolution, and the genus fossil record reaches back roughly 2 to 2.5 million years.

Urocyon holds the gray fox and the island fox. Whole genome sequencing indicates it is the sister lineage to all other living canid genera, and an ancestor, Urocyon progressus, was found in Upper Pliocene Kansas.