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Aenocyon dirus (dire wolf)

Mammalia - Carnivora - Canidae

Taxonomy
Canis dirus was named by Leidy (1858). Its type specimen is ANSP 11614, a maxilla, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Ohio River at Evansville, which is in a Pleistocene terrestrial horizon in Indiana.

It was recombined as Aenocyon dirus by Merriam (1918), Hibbard (1949), Hibbard and Taylor (1960), Ruiz-Ramoni et al. (2022) and Prevosti (2023).

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1833Canis primaevus Hodgson
1836Canis himalaicus Ogilby
1854Canis primaevus Leidy
1855Cuon buansu Gervais
1858Canis dirus Leidy p. 21
1863Cuon grayformis Hodgson
1869Canis indianensis Leidy
1873Canis indianensis Leidy p. 230
1875Cuon primaevus Bourguignat
1876Canis mississippiensis Allen p. 49
1902Canis dirus Hay p. 775
1902Canis indianensis Hay p. 775
1903Canis indianensis Merriam p. 288 figs. Pl. 30, Fig. 2
1916Canis ayersi Sellards p. 121
1918Aenocyon ayersi Merriam
1918Aenocyon dirus Merriam
1929Canis ayersi Simpson
1931Canis dirus Elftman p. 5
1940Canis dirus Olson p. 42
1940Canis ayersi Olson p. 44
1946Canis dirus Stock and et al.
1949Aenocyon dirus Hibbard
1960Aenocyon dirus Hibbard and Taylor
1966Canis dirus Slaughter p. 481
1972Canis dirus Kurten and Anderson
1972Canis dirus Lundelius, Jr.
1974Canis dirus Martin
1979Canis dirus Nowak
1980Canis dirus Kurten and Anderson p. 171
1984Canis dirus Kurten
1988Canis dirus Berta
2008Canis dirus Wang et al.
2009Canis dirus Tedford et al. p. 144 figs. 40, 43, 44, 56A–F; appendices 2, 3
2019Canis dirus Albright et al. p. 173
2021Canis dirus Lu et al.
2022Aenocyon dirus Ruiz-Ramoni et al. p. 103
2023Aenocyon dirus Prevosti

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
subclassSynapsida
Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
Mammaliamorpha
Mammaliaformes
RankNameAuthor
classMammalia
Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
Theriiformes()
Trechnotheria
Cladotheria
Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
Eutheria()
Placentalia
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria
Scrotifera
Ferae()
CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
familyCanidae
subfamilyCaninaeGill 1872
genusAenocyon
speciesdirus()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Aenocyon dirus Leidy 1858 [dire wolf]
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Invalid names: Canis ayersi Sellards 1916 [synonym], Canis indianensis Leidy 1869 [synonym], Canis mississippiensis Allen 1876 [synonym], Canis nehringi Ameghino 1902 [synonym], Canis primaevus Hodgson 1833 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
R. H. Tedford et al. 2009Canis dirus is distinguished by a number of autapomorphies related to hypercarnivory: loss of m2 anterolabial cingulum; wide palate; greatly reduced m1–m2 metaconids and entoconids; greatly reduced M1–M2 hypocones; very weak or discontinuous anterolingual cingu- lum across M1 protocone. It shares with C. armbrusteri two synapomorphies: short and little recurved canine, and a reduced P4 protocone. With C. lupus it shares four additional synapomorphies: paroccipital pro- cess strongly expanded posteriorly; frontal sinus reaching the frontoparietal suture; long incisive foramina that extend to or behind canine alveoli; M1 parastyle very weak, preparacrista directed anteriorly, not to parastyle.