Cerdocyon avius Temporal range: 4.9 - 0.011 Ma range |
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Fossil
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Canidae |
Genus: | Cerdocyon |
Species: | †C. avius |
Binomial name | |
†Cerdocyon avius Torres & Ferrusquia, 1981 |
Cerdocyon avius is an extinct species of omnivorous mammal of the family Canidae, which inhabited North and South America during the Pliocene from 4.9 Ma to approximately 11,000 years ago. It is similar to the modern crab-eating fox.
Cerdocyon was named by Hamilton-Smith (1839). It was assigned to Canidae by Hamilton-Smith (1839) and Carroll (1988).
C. avius was about 80 centimetres (2.6 ft) long and probably had habits similar to those of its extant relative. Fossils of the species have been found in Baja California and Venezuela.