Cerdocyonina

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Cerdocyonina is an extant subtribe of canids that lives in the Americas, also known as the South American canids. Their history runs from the Late Miocene to the present, and they include about 10 living species.

Key members you might recognize:
- Maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)
- Bush dog (Speothos venaticus)
- Crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous)
- Andean fox (Lycalopex culpaeus)
- Other Lycalopex species and the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis)

Origins and evolution:
- Cerdocyonina is a distinct, natural group whose ancestors were related to the line that includes Eucyon, Canis, and Lycaon.
- Fossils show Cerdocyonina in North America about 6–5 million years ago, with Theriodictis and Chrysocyon appearing around 5–4 million years ago.
- A large Theriodictis fossil from about 2 million years ago was found in Florida, indicating North American presence before the Isthmus of Panama formed.
- The group likely originated in North America and moved into South America through Central America, arriving around 3.9–3.5 million years ago and then spreading across the continent.

Classification notes:
- For many years scientists debated how South American canids were related. The current view recognizes Cerdocyonina as its own natural group, distinct from other canids, with unique skull and tooth features.
- In 2018, evidence suggested that Canis gezi (an extinct canid) should be placed within Cerdocyonina, though no new genus name was proposed.
- A 2005 genetic study mapped relationships among living members, including bush dog, maned wolf, several Lycalopex species, the crab-eating fox, and others.

diversification and spread:
- Recent genome studies show that living Cerdocyonina began diverging from a common ancestor about 3.9–3.5 million years ago. This timing supports a scenario in which their ancestor reached South America from Central America and then diversified across the continent.

Today, Cerdocyonina remains a diverse and widespread group of canids in the Americas, adapted to a variety of habitats from forests to grasslands.