Canis ferox is a species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of canidae

Canidae

Canidae is the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and domestic dogs. A member of this family is called a canid . The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini and Vulpini...

 which was endemic to North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and lived from the Late Hemphillian

Hemphillian

The Hemphillian North American Stage on the geologic timescale is the North American faunal stage according to the North American Land Mammal Ages chronology , typically set from 10,300,000 to 4,900,000 years BP, a period of . It is usually considered to overlap the Tortonian epoch of the Late...

 stage (10.3 Mya) of the Pliocene

Pliocene

The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...

 through the Miocene

Miocene

The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...

 epoch (5.33 Mya).. Canis ferox existed for approximately . It is a primitive species, existing before most of the clades of Canis

Canis

Canis is a genus containing 7 to 10 extant species, including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals, and many extinct species.-Wolves, dogs and dingos:Wolves, dogs and dingos are subspecies of Canis lupus...

were formed.

Canis ferox was named by Miller and Carranza-Castaneda in 1998.

Fossil distribution

The first fossil record was found in Rancho Viejo, central Mexico. No other record of Canis ferox has been found outside of central Mexico. A specimen was estimated by Legendre and Roth to weigh 14.3 kg (31.5 lbs) and another specimen was estimated to weigh 13.3 kg (29.3 lbs).