Xenocyon

Xenocyon ("strange dog") is an extinct group of canids, either considered a distinct genus or a subgenus of Canis. The group includes Canis (Xenocyon) africanus, Canis (Xenocyon) antonii and Canis (Xenocyon) falconeri that gave rise to Canis (Xenocyon) lycanoides. The hypercarnivorous Xenocyon is thought to be closely related and possibly ancestral to modern dhole and the African wild dog, as well as the insular Sardinian dhole.

==Taxonomy== thumb|left|Skeleton of Cynotherium sardous matched with outline of Xenocyon lycaonoides (large) Xenocyon is proposed as a subgenus of Canis named Canis (Xenocyon). One taxonomic authority proposes that as part of this subgenus, the group named Canis (Xenocyon) ex gr. falconeri (ex gr. meaning "of the group including") would include all of the large hypercarnivorous canids that inhabited the Old World during the Late Pliocene–Early Pleistocene: Canis (Xenocyon) africanus in Africa, Canis (Xenocyon) antonii in Asia and Canis (Xenocyon) falconeri in Europe. Further, these three could be regarded as extreme geographical variations within the one taxon. This group was hypercarnivorous, had a large body size that is comparable with the northern populations of the modern gray wolf (Canis lupus) and are characterized by a short neurocranium relative to their skull size.