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Brainy stuff of long-gone dogs: a reappraisal of the supposed Canis endocranial cast from the Pliocene of Poland

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Abstract

The pre-Quaternary fossil record of Canis in the Old World is scarce, and the first appearance of this genus in Europe remains an enigma. Amongst the oldest fossils assigned to this genus, there is a natural cast of the brain (endocast) collected in Węże 1, Poland, from Pliocene deposits dated between 3.3 and 4.0 Ma. We reexamined this specimen and found that it differs from the brain of Canis in having its region medial to the coronal sulcus heart-shaped in dorsal view, its region rostral to the presylvian sulcus shorter and less constricted laterally, and its cerebellum less overlapped by the cerebrum and lacking a lateral twist of the posterior vermis. We identified this fossil, as well as another fossil canid endocast from Węże 1, as representing the raccoon dog genus Nyctereutes. The previously reported presence of Canis in Węże 1 is therefore not confirmed. Specifically, both endocasts can be referred to N. donnezani because this is the only species of Nyctereutes that has been recognised in this locality on the basis of craniomandibular and dental fossils. Our study represents a taxonomic application of comparative neuroanatomical and palaeoneurological data, an approach that may become increasingly useful with the growing knowledge of the endocranial morphology of fossil mammals.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Gwidon Jakubowski (Museum of the Earth, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw) and Adam Nadachowski (Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals, Polish Academy of Sciences, Cracow) for access to collections in their respective institutions. We also thank Francisco Prevosti and two other anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions. This research was supported by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Polish Academy of Sciences.

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  1. Palaeontological Museum, National Museum of Natural History, National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Bogdan Khmelnitsky 15, 01601, Kiev, Ukraine

    Dmitry V. Ivanoff

  2. Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza 64, 00-679, Warszawa, Poland

    Mieczysław Wolsan

  3. Department of Palaeozoology, University of Wrocław, Sienkiewicza 21, 50-335, Wrocław, Poland

    Adrian Marciszak

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  1. Dmitry V. Ivanoff
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Ivanoff, D.V., Wolsan, M. & Marciszak, A. Brainy stuff of long-gone dogs: a reappraisal of the supposed Canis endocranial cast from the Pliocene of Poland. Naturwissenschaften 101, 645–651 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1200-4

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