Sardinian dhole
The Sardinian dhole (genus Cynotherium especially C. sardous) is an extinct insular canid which was endemic to what is now the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia and Corsica during the Middle-Late Pleistocene. It went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene around the time of human settlement of the islands.
| Sardinian dhole Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene-Holocene | |
|---|---|
| Drawing of the skeleton of C. sardous scale bar = 20 cm | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | Caninae |
| Tribe: | Canini |
| Genus: | †Cynotherium Studiati, 1857 |
| Type species | |
| Cynotherium sardous Studiati, 1857 | |
| Other species | |
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| Former range (in red) | |
Its scientific name means "dog-beast of Sardinia", the genus name from the Ancient Greek: θήρ, romanized: thḗr, lit. 'beast', 'wild animal' and κύων, kyōn, 'dog' and the specific name from the Latin: Sardous, lit. 'of Sardinia', alt. form of Latin: Sardus.
Around the size of a jackal, morphological studies indicate it was a specialised stalking predator of small mammals and birds, with a probable preference for the endemic Sardinian pika.
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