Canis
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Canis Temporal range: Miocene to Recent 9–0 Ma |
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| Grey wolf (top), coyote and African golden wolf (top middle), Ethiopian wolf and golden jackal (bottom middle), black-backed jackal and side-striped jackal (bottom) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Caniformia |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Tribe: | Canini |
| Genus: |
Canis Linnaeus, 1758 |
| Extant Species | |
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1C. lupus also includes domestic dogs, C. l. familiaris and dingos, C. l. dingo |
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1C. lupus also includes domestic dogs, C. l. familiaris and dingos, C. l. dingo
Canis is a genus of canids containing multiple extant species, such as wolves, dogs and coyotes. Species of this genus are distinguished by their moderate to large size, their massive, well developed skulls and dentition, long legs, and comparatively short ears and tails.
The generic name Canis means "dog" in Latin. The term "canine" comes from the adjective form, caninus ("of the dog"), from which the term canine tooth is also derived. The canine family has prominent canine teeth, used for killing their prey. The word canis is cognate to the Greek word kūon (Greek: Κύων), which means "dog", as well as (less transparently) English hound.
The tribe Canini (Fischer de Waldheim, 1817) is the sister group to the foxes (vulpes), and is represented today by two sub-tribes: genus Canis that includes dogs, wolves, coyotes, jackals; and the genus Cerdocyonina that includes the so-called foxes of South America (Crab-eating fox). The critical features that mark the Canini as a monophyletic group include: the consistent enlargement of the frontal sinus, often accompanied by the correlated loss of the depression in the dorsal surface of the postorbital process; the posterior expansion of the paroccipital process; the enlargement of the mastoid process; and the lack of lateral flare of the orbital border of the zygoma.
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