Aenocyon

Aenocyon; Temporal range: Pleistocene-early Holocene,
	Restored skeleton of dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus), the type species of genus Aenocyon in National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, in Japan
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Subfamily:	Caninae
Tribe:	Canini
Subtribe:	Canina
Genus:	†Aenocyon; Merriam, 1918
Type species
	†Canis dirus; Leidy, 1858
Other species
	†A. armbrusteri (Gidley, 1913);

Aenocyon (lit. 'dire dog') is an extinct genus of canines that lived between the Pleistocene and early Holocene epochs. The type species is the dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus). The other species, A. armbrusteri was originally classified as species of Canis genus, but more recent studies suggest that belongs to genus Aenocyon.^[1]

In 2021, Perri and colleagues suggested that Canis edwardii might belong to the same genus Aenocyon.^[2] However, this has not been widely accepted, with a 2024 study suggesting that C. edwardii would be a closer relative of the coyote as traditionally interpreted.^[3] C. nehringi is considered a likely member of the A. dirus lineage or its junior synonym.^[4]

References

^ Eshelman, R. E.; Bell, C. J.; Graham, R. W.; Semken, H. A.; Withnell, C. B.; Scarpetta, S. G.; James, H. F.; Godfrey, S. J.; Mead, J. I.; Hodnett, J.-P.; Grady, F. V. (2025). "Middle Pleistocene Cumberland Bone Cave Local Fauna, Allegany County, Maryland: A Systematic Revision and Paleoecological Interpretation of the Irvingtonian, Middle Appalachians, USA". Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 108: 1–305. doi:10.5479/si.28597193.
^ Perri, Angela R.; Mitchell, Kieren J.; Mouton, Alice; Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra; Hulme-Beaman, Ardern; Haile, James; Jamieson, Alexandra; Meachen, Julie; Lin, Audrey T.; Schubert, Blaine W.; Ameen, Carly; Antipina, Ekaterina E.; Bover, Pere; Brace, Selina; Carmagnini, Alberto (2021-03-04). "Dire wolves were the last of an ancient New World canid lineage". Nature. 591 (7848): 87–91. Bibcode:2021Natur.591...87P. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03082-x. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 33442059. S2CID 231604957. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-04-03.
^ Bartolini-Lucenti, S.; Cirilli, O.; Melchionna, M.; Raia, P.; Tseng, Z. J.; Flynn, J. J.; Rook, L. (2024). "Virtual reconstruction of the Canis arnensis type (Canidae, Mammalia) from the Upper Valdarno Basin (Italy, Early Pleistocene)". Scientific Reports. 14 (1). 8303. Bibcode:2024NatSR..14.8303B. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-53073-5. PMC 11004169. PMID 38594298.
^ Prevosti, F.J. (2023). "Sistemática de los grandes cánidos (Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae) fósiles de América del Sur". Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina (in Spanish). 23 (1): 78–192. doi:10.5710/PEAPA.28.10.2022.417.

[1] Eshelman, R. E.; Bell, C. J.; Graham, R. W.; Semken, H. A.; Withnell, C. B.; Scarpetta, S. G.; James, H. F.; Godfrey, S. J.; Mead, J. I.; Hodnett, J.-P.; Grady, F. V. (2025). "Middle Pleistocene Cumberland Bone Cave Local Fauna, Allegany County, Maryland: A Systematic Revision and Paleoecological Interpretation of the Irvingtonian, Middle Appalachians, USA". Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 108: 1–305. doi:10.5479/si.28597193.

[2] Perri, Angela R.; Mitchell, Kieren J.; Mouton, Alice; Álvarez-Carretero, Sandra; Hulme-Beaman, Ardern; Haile, James; Jamieson, Alexandra; Meachen, Julie; Lin, Audrey T.; Schubert, Blaine W.; Ameen, Carly; Antipina, Ekaterina E.; Bover, Pere; Brace, Selina; Carmagnini, Alberto (2021-03-04). "Dire wolves were the last of an ancient New World canid lineage". Nature. 591 (7848): 87–91. Bibcode:2021Natur.591...87P. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-03082-x. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 33442059. S2CID 231604957. Archived from the original on 2023-03-25. Retrieved 2023-04-03.

[3] Bartolini-Lucenti, S.; Cirilli, O.; Melchionna, M.; Raia, P.; Tseng, Z. J.; Flynn, J. J.; Rook, L. (2024). "Virtual reconstruction of the Canis arnensis type (Canidae, Mammalia) from the Upper Valdarno Basin (Italy, Early Pleistocene)". Scientific Reports. 14 (1). 8303. Bibcode:2024NatSR..14.8303B. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-53073-5. PMC 11004169. PMID 38594298.

[4] Prevosti, F.J. (2023). "Sistemática de los grandes cánidos (Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae) fósiles de América del Sur". Publicación Electrónica de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina (in Spanish). 23 (1): 78–192. doi:10.5710/PEAPA.28.10.2022.417.

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