Canidae

Canids
Temporal range: Late Eocene-Holocene[1]: 7 
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CanisCuonLycaonCerdocyonChrysocyonSpeothosVulpesNyctereutesOtocyonUrocyon
10 of the 13 extant canid genera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Infraorder: Cynoidea
Family: Canidae
Fischer de Waldheim, 1817[2]
Type genus
Canis
Linnaeus, 1758
Subfamilies and extant genera

Canidae (/ˈkænɪd/;[3] from Latin, canis, "dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (/ˈknɪd/).[4] The family includes three subfamilies: the Caninae, the extinct Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae.[5] The Caninae are known as canines,[6] and include domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals and other species.

Canids are found on all continents except Antarctica, having arrived independently or accompanied by human beings over extended periods of time. Canids vary in size from the 2-metre-long (6.6 ft)[citation needed] gray wolf to the 24-centimetre-long (9.4 in)[citation needed] fennec fox. The body forms of canids are similar, typically having long muzzles, upright ears, teeth adapted for cracking bones and slicing flesh, long legs, and bushy tails. They are mostly social animals, living together in family units or small groups and behaving co-operatively. Typically, only the dominant pair in a group breeds and a litter of young are reared annually in an underground den. Canids communicate by scent signals and vocalizations. One canid, the domestic dog, originated from a symbiotic relationship with Upper Paleolithic humans and today remains one of the most widely kept domestic animals.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference tedford2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Fischer de Waldheim, G. 1817. Adversaria zoological. Memoir Societe Naturelle (Moscow) 5:368–428. p372
  3. ^ Canidae. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary. Houghton Mifflin Company. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Canidae (accessed: 16 February 2009).
  4. ^ Wang & Tedford 2008, pp. 181.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference miklosi2015 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Wang & Tedford 2008, pp. 182.