The phylogeny of dogs
Matthew W. 1930. The phylogeny of dogs. Journal of Mammalogy. 11(2):117-138
The fossil record of the ancestry of the dogs is not well known even to paleontologists, and very little known to others. This is partly because it has involved less obvious and striking changes in the adaptation of teeth and feet, partly because the fossil record has been comparatively fragmentary and scattered until recent years and much of the best evidence has been placed on record only in isolated special descriptions or has not yet described or illustrated in print. No comprehensive study or monograph on the subject has yet been written, nor has anyone in recent years attempted a summary or popular outline of the evidence. Moreover the phylogeny of the Canidae is, like that of the horse and his relatives, a branching tree, but the branches are even more numerous and complex and their real relationship has been a much more difficult and disputed problem than the comparatively simple direct evolutionary series of our equine friends. In both cases our present knowledge is the accumulation of numerous finds made by many men in different parts of the world, but especially in Europe and the United States.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Matthew, WD
- Units
- BADL
- Keywords
- Canidae, dogs (Canidae), Evolution, Geology, Paleontology, Prehistoric Mammals