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Re-Defining Canis etruscus (Canidae, Mammalia): A New Look into the Evolutionary History of Early Pleistocene Dogs Resulting from the Outstanding Fossil Record from Pantalla (Italy)

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Abstract

An outstanding sample of Canis etruscus has been found within the faunal assemblage from the early Pleistocene site of Pantalla (Italy), which is referred to the early late Villafranchian. Canis etruscus appeared in Europe about 2 Ma ago. It is regarded as an important taxon for biochronology, as its first occurrence (the “wolf event”) has been used to define one of the Villafranchian faunal turnovers. The discovery of four crania from Pantalla prompted a revision of C. etruscus, in order to better describe its cranial morphology. Since early studies, the distinction between C. etruscus and the coeval C. arnensis has been based mainly on mandibular traits. For this reason, our study is aimed at highlighting differences in craniodental characters between the two species. Canis arnensis has been conventionally considered a jackal-like dog, while C. etruscus is regarded as a wolf-like dog. Consequently, we decided to use jackals for comparison, in addition to C. lupus. Although the jackal group has been traditionally considered as quite homogenous (different species are partially sympatric and similar in both size and ecology), recent genetic studies demonstrate that jackals are not monophyletic. Considering the model offered by extant species, our goal is to delineate the degree of intra- and interspecific variability among the basal forms of the genus Canis.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to M.C. De Angelis (SBAU), who entrusted the senior author with the study of the mammal collection from Pantalla. We are grateful to E. Cioppi (IGF), G. Csorba and M. Gasparik (HNHM), A. Faveri (ISPRA), G. Doria (MSNG), G. Bardelli (MSNM), R. Zorzin and A. Vaccari (MSNV), L. Boitani and A. Vigna Taglianti (DZR), M. Rustioni (MPM), and all the staff of the “Palazzone” (SBAU), for access to museum collections and for their excellent technical support.

Part of the comparative analyses for this study were carried out thanks to the support from the SYNTHESYS Project http://www.synthesys.info/, which is financed by European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 “Capacities” Program (project number: HU-TAF-2306 for MC; AT-TAF-5028 and HU-TAF-707 for RS), from the Sapienza Ricerche Universitarie 2011 grant (DFB and RS), and from Fondi di Ateneo 2010 and 2011 grants of Florence University (LR).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Perugia University, Piazza Università, 06123, Perugia, Italy

    Marco Cherin

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy

    Davide F. Bertè & Raffaele Sardella

  3. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Florence University, Via G. La Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy

    Lorenzo Rook

  4. IsIPU, Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Via Aldrovandi 16/18, 00197, Rome, Italy

    Raffaele Sardella

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  1. Marco Cherin
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Correspondence to Marco Cherin.

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Appendix 1

Cranial measurements (mm) of selected fossil (C. etruscus and C. arnensis) and living (C. mesomelas, C. aureus, C. lupaster, and C. lupus) Caninae species. (PDF 117 kb)

Appendix 2

Upper tooth measurements (mm) of selected fossil (C. etruscus and C. arnensis) and living (C. mesomelas, C. aureus, C. lupaster, and C. lupus) Caninae species. (PDF 119 kb)

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Cherin, M., Bertè, D.F., Rook, L. et al. Re-Defining Canis etruscus (Canidae, Mammalia): A New Look into the Evolutionary History of Early Pleistocene Dogs Resulting from the Outstanding Fossil Record from Pantalla (Italy). J Mammal Evol 21, 95–110 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10914-013-9227-4

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