Eucyon wokari García, 2008

Rook, Lorenzo, 2009, The wide ranging genus Eucyon Tedford & Qiu, 1996 (Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae, Canini) in the Mio-Pliocene of the Old World, Geodiversitas 31 (4), pp. 723-741 : 733

? Eucyon wokari García, 2008

TYPE LOCALITY. — Aramis ( Ethiopia).

AGE. — Early Pliocene.

The remains from Aramis represent the most recently described species of the genus, although the occurrence of an upper M 3 in the maxilla ( García 2008: 586; Fig. 3 ) cast doubts even on the tribe attribution of this taxon. Comparable in size with the late Miocene African species E. intrepidus , the detail morphology of? Eucyon wokari lower molars is peculiar, especially for the talonid structure in the lower carnassial. The latter is described as highly derived being hypoconid and entoconid “connected by a tiny cristid” ( García 2008: 588). This character (see above, the discussion on Eucyon distinctive features), is usually absent in all the Eucyon species , but present in all the other Canini ( Tedford & Qiu 1996), and may occur also in living Vulpini populations ( Tedford et al. 1995).

According to García (2008)? Eucyon wokari might represent a new eastern African chronospecies of this canid lineage that inhabited eastern Africa during the Pliocene and, as it is the case of the very derived E. zhoui from China ( Tedford & Qiu 1996),? Eucyon wokari , could be eventually more closely related to the Canis -group than to Eucyon .

Figures

FIG. 3. — Eucyon adoxus (Martin, 1973) from St-Estève (near Perpignan, France; MN 15): A, type specimen RSS 45, approximate length of the skull 18 cm;B, skull and mandible reconstruction based on type specimen RSS 45; C, reconstruction of principal jaw- abductor muscles positioned on the reconstructed skull; D, life appearance of the head.