The Sardinian dhole (Cynotherium sardous) is an extinct insular canid which was endemic to what is now the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia (Italy) and Corsica (France), which were joined for much of the Pleistocene. It went extinct when humans began to settle on the island. Its scientific name means "dog-beast of Sardinia", the genus name from the Ancient Greek: θήρ, romanized: thḗr, lit. 'beast', 'wild animal' and κύων, kyōn, 'dog' and the specific name from the Latin: Sardous, lit. 'of Sardinia', alt. form of Latin: Sardus. The genomic analysis of a 21,000 year-old Sardinian dhole specimen indicates that the Sardinian dhole lineage and the Asian dhole lineage diverged from each other 885,000 years ago. Gene flow continued between the two lineages until between 500,000–300,000 years ago, coming to an end most likely when the land bridge between Sardinia and the Italian peninsula was submerged by rising sea levels, which stopped further gene flow. The analysis showed low genomic diversity which may have led to the extinction of this dhole.
When the ancestor of this canid became confined to the island, its diet became limited to small and fast prey, such as rodents and rabbits. This lack of large prey caused the Sardinian dhole to evolve into a small sized (perhaps 10 kg or 22 lb) canid. This view of Cynotherium as a predator specializing in small, fast prey is supported by an examination of the animal's anatomy. The evolution of short, powerful limbs, a low neck carriage and increased head and neck mobility suggests an animal well suited for stalking and then quickly pouncing on or running down small prey.
Sardinian dhole
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Scientific classification | |||||
Kingdom: | Animalia | ||||
Phylum: | Chordata | ||||
Class: | Mammalia | ||||
Order: | Carnivora | ||||
Family: | Canidae | ||||
Subfamily: | Caninae | ||||
Tribe: | Canini | ||||
Genus: | †Cynotherium | ||||
Species: | †C. sardous | ||||
Conservation Status | |||||
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The Italian island Sardinia, was where its habitat mostly was located. |