Canis lupus familiaris, dog at GeoChemBio: taxonomy of Canidae family

Canis lupus familiaris, dog taxonomy

The domestic dog is a species in the family Canidae (canids), order Carnivora, and suborder Caniformia (former superfamily Caniodea) that includes seals, bears, weasel-, and raccoon-like carnivores.

Although dogs belong to an ancient lineage, the 35 extant species are all closey related. The radiation of recent lineages probably began about 12 to 15 million years ago and diversified into three distinct groups:

the red fox-like canids, including red, kit, and Arctic foxes;
the South American foxes;
the wolf-like canids, including the domestic dog, grey wolf, coyote, and jackals.

The gray fox, raccoon dog, and bat-eared fox do not fit into these categories and represent long-distinct lineages. The raccoon dog appears to have the most primitive chromosome complement and may have some large chromosome blocks that are homologous to those of cats. Chromosome number and structure vary widely among canid species, from 36 metacentric chromosomes (red fox) to 78 acrocentric chromosomes (wolves, coyotes, and jackals). This degree of variation contrast sharply with most other carnivore families in which chromosome number and structure are well conserved.

Taxonomic lineage of domestic cat Felis catus

cellular organisms - Eukaryota - Fungi/Metazoa group - Metazoa - Eumetazoa - Bilateria - Coelomata - Deuterostomia - Chordata - Craniata - Vertebrata - Gnathostomata - Teleostomi - Euteleostomi - Sarcopterygii - Tetrapoda - Amniota - Mammalia - Theria - Eutheria - Laurasiatheria - Carnivora - Caniformia - Canidae - Canis - Canis lupus - Canis lupus familiaris

Canidae (dog family)

Dog family (Canidae) belongs to order Carnivora and contains several genera many of which are well-known such as genera Canis (wolves and jackals) and Vulpes (foxes).

The following is list of all genera that belong to family Canidae.

Atelocynus
- Atelocynus microtis Small-eared dog. Dweller of Amazon rainforest.
  
  A monograph of the canidae by St. George Mivart, F.R.S, published by Alere Flammam. 1890.
Canis
- Canis adustus Side-striped jackal
  
  Photo credit: nbii.gov
- Canis aureus Golden jackal
- Canis himalayensis Himalayan jackal
- Canis indica Indian wolf
- Canis latrans Coyote
- Canis lupus Gray wolf
  
  Unraveling the mysteries of dog evolution. Honeycutt RL. BMC Biol. 2010 Mar 9;8:20.
  - Canis lupus
    baileyi Mexican grey wolf
  - Canis lupus
    chanco Mongolian grey wolf
  - Canis lupus
    dingo Dingo
  - Canis lupus
    familiaris Domestic dog
  - Canis lupus
    hattai Hokkaidō wolf
  - Canis lupus
    hodophilax Japanese wolf
  - Canis lupus
    labradorius Labrador wolf
  - Canis lupus
    laniger Tibetan wolf
  - Canis lupus
    lupus Eurasian wolf
  - Canis lupus
    mogollonensis Mogollon mountain wolf
  - Canis lupus
    pallipes Indian or Iranian wolf
  - Canis lupus
    signatus Iberian wolf
- Canis lycaon Eastern Canadian wolf
- Canis mesomelas Black-backed jackal
- Canis rufus Red wolf
- Canis simensis Ethiopian wolf
Chrysocyon
- Chrysocyon
  brachyurus Mane wolf
  
  "Red fox on stilts" lounges in it's enclosure at National zoo (Washington D.C., USA).
Cuon
- Cuon alpinus Dhole
Dusicyon
- Dusicyon australis Falkland islands wolf
- Dusicyon griseus Grey zorro
- Dusicyon thous Crab-eating fox
  
  One of animals used as medicine in Latin America Alves RR, Alves HN. J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2011 Mar 7;7:9.
Lycalopex
- Lycalopex culpaeus Culpeo
- Lycalopex fulvipes Darwin's zorro
- Lycalopex griseus South American gray fox
- Lycalopex
  gymnocercus Pampas fox
- Lycalopex sechurae Sechura desert fox
- Lycalopex vetulus Hoary fox
Lycaon
- Lycaon pictus African hunting dog
Nyctereutes
- Nyctereutes
  procyonoides Raccoon dog
Otocyon
- Otocyon megalotis Bat-eared fox
Speothos
- Speothos venaticus Bush dog
Urocyon
- Urocyon
  cinereoargenteus Grey fox
- Urocyon littoralis Island gray fox
Vulpes
- Vulpes cana Blandford's fox
- Vulpes chama Cape fox
- Vulpes corsac Corsac fox
- Vulpes ferrilata Tibetan sand fox
- Vulpes lagopus Arctic fox
  
  Photo credit kotomatrix.ru (funny animals)
- Vulpes macrotis Kit fox
- Vulpes rueppellii Rueppel's fox
- Vulpes velox Kit fox
- Vulpes vulpes Red fox
  
  Photo credit kotomatrix.ru (funny animals)
- Vulpes zerda Fennec fox
  
  Norfolk zoo (Virginia, USA).