The wide ranging genus Eucyon Tedford & Qiu, 1996 (Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae, Canini) in the Mio-Pliocene of the Old World

The occurrence of the Tribe Canini (subfamily Caninae) in the Hemphillian (Mio-Pliocene) of North America has been long known without finding contemporary relatives in the Old World. Although scanty and sometimes problematic, the remains of rare dogs in the Old World fossil record are important because they attest to the occurrence of a more diverse taxonomy within the tribe Canini in the late Miocene and Pliocene of Eurasia and Africa. The occurrence of North American Eucyon from eastern Asia to western Europe has been securely documented and finally in the very recent years, multiple new findings in eastern Africa of this same genus attest undoubtedly to its occurrence in the fossil record of this continent. The late Miocene expansion of the genus Eucyon from America to Eurasia and Africa is a synchronous event with global significance for the Old World continental carnivore guild composition and turnover. Although the Eucyon documentation remains quite fragmentary, the general pattern of the dispersal westwards through the Holarctic from North America to the Old World (Asia, Europe, and Africa) is defined. The important fossil documentation at some sites across these continents allowed the recognition of different Eucyon species, although deeper analyses are still needed to understand the full pattern of Eucyon relationships and its evolutionary history across North America and the Old World.