The Sardinian dhole Cynotherium sardous was an endemic insular canid ^[1], that occurred on the Italian island of Sardinia. It became extinct when humans began to settle on the island ^[2]. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in female mammary glands and the presence of hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the... Families 17, See classification The diverse order Carnivora (IPA: or IPA: ; from Latin carō (stem carn-) flesh, + vorāre to devour) includes over 260 placental mammals. ... Genera Alopex Atelocynus Canis Cerdocyon Chrysocyon Cuon Cynotherium † Dusicyon † Dasycyon † Fennecus (Part of Vulpes) Lycalopex (Part of Pseudalopex) Lycaon Nyctereutes Otocyon Pseudalopex Speothos Urocyon Vulpes The Canidae (′kanə′dē) family is a part of the order Carnivora within the mammals (Class Mammalia). ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean belonging or native to, characteristic of, or prevalent in a particular geography, race, field, area, or environment; Native to an area or scope. ... Insularity reflects a wide range of physical and emotional meanings in accordance with a person or place: For a place, it relates to an island or any physically isolated place distant and inaccessible without sufficient means of transport. ... Genera Alopex Atelocynus Canis Cerdocyon Chrysocyon Cuon Cynotherium † Dusicyon † Dasycyon † Fennecus (Part of Vulpes) Lycalopex (Part of Pseudalopex) Lycaon Nyctereutes Otocyon Pseudalopex Speothos Urocyon Vulpes The Canidae (′kanə′dē) family is a part of the order Carnivora within the mammals (Class Mammalia). ... Sardinia (pronounced ; Italian: ; Sardinian: or Sardinnya) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily). ...

When this canid became confined to the island, it faced a menu consisting of small and fast prey only.^[3] It adapted into a small sized canid.^[1]

It appears that Xenocyon is the ancestor of Cynotherium ^[1]. Sometimes it is also considered a derivation from a population of late Canis arnensis (or Canis mosbachensis).^[4]

See also

• List of extinct animals of Europe
• Insular dwarfism

The list of extinct animals in Europe features the animals that have become extinct on the European continent and some in other dependent territories of European countries. ... Insular dwarfism is the process and condition of the reduction in size of large animals - almost always mammals - when their gene pool is limited to a very small environment, primarily islands. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Lyras G.A., Van der Geer A.E., Dermitzakis M., De Vos J. (2006) Cynotherium sardous, an insular canid (Mammalia: Carnivora) from the Pleistocene of Sardinia (Italy), and its origin. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: Vol. 26, No. 3 pp. 735–745
2. ^ Gippoliti, Spartaco & Amori, Giovanni. (2006) Ancient introductions of mammals in the Mediterranean Basin and their implications for conservation. Mammal Review 36 (1), 37-48.
3. ^ Lyras G., Van der Geer A. (2006) Adaptations of the Pleistocene island canid Cynotherium sardous (Sardinia, Italy) for hunting small prey. Cranium 23, 1: 51-60.
4. ^ Abbazzi L., M. Arca, C. Tuveri & L. Rook. (2005) The endemic canid Cynotherium (Mammalia, Carnivora) from the Pleistocene deposits of Monte Tuttavista (Nuoro, Eastern Sardinia). Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia. Vol. 111, nr. 3, 497.