Lecture 1
Carnivoran vs. Carnivore
Carnivoran = a member of the carnivora order
Carnivore = organism that consumes an amount of meat in their diet
Vulpes timeline? Includes what species?
Diverged about 9-10 million years ago
Red fox, artic fox, swift fox, fennec fox, kit fox
Differences between dogs and wolves?
Dogs = larger eyes, wider faces, shortened snout, curled tails, mature slower, even feral they still rely on humans, lost problem solving skills
Wolves = Do not have floppy ears, better problem solvers, and will not listen to humans
What is considered the oldest dog breed?
How did they determine this?
Asian spitzes
Based on DNA study using 96 microsatellites on 414 dogs of 85 breeds
What are the Canadian cats? (info about them for bonus)
Canadian lynx = 13.5-29 kg, tufted ears and very short tail, eats snowshoe hare
Bobcat = 7-16 kg, tufted ears and bobtail, Canada to middle of Mexico, eats snowshoe hair, insects, birds, small rodents
Cougar = 45-60 kg, largest of the felinae, long tail, mountains of North, Central & south america
The carnivora evolution started with?
When did it split? into what?
Miacids are the ancestral family for all carnivoran
Miacids spilt ~40 million years ago into - feliforms, caniforms,
Lycalopex timeline? Includes what species
This group diverged about 6-7 million years ago
Hoary fox, sechuran fox, darwins fox, pampas fox, chilla, culpeo fox
What does mtDNA studies of canids reveal?
Interbred with wolves at various times
since mitochondria are maternally inherited - wolf mitochondria indicates a female wolf was bred by a dogs
North american dogs probably evolved from eurasion wolves
Dogs came to the americas about 12000 B.P in the paleolithic period across the bering strait
Extinct Canadian dog breeds?
Extant Canadian dog breeds?
Extinct = Tahltan bear dog, Hare Indian, Salish wooly, Kimmiq
Extant = Labrador retriever, newfoundland dog, nova scotia duck tolling retriever
What is true about the domestic cat
Only domesticated species of the family felidae (the leopard cat is possible)
May have either Felis silvestris or Felis lybica as an ancestor - highly debated due to lack of fossil records, and morphology of wild cats and domestic cats being similar
Hesperocyoninae - 40-51M years ago in north america
Borophaginae - 34-2M years ago in north america
Caninae - Extant
Branches of wolf-like canids include? example?
Lupulella - jackals
Lycaon - african wild dog
Cuon - dhole also known as asian wild-dog
Canis - Golden jackal, Wolves, Dogs
What are the dingos origins?
Marsuipial thylacine was wolf counterpart in australia
Dogs arrived with the seafarers about 4000 years ago and outcompeted the thylacines
These dogs became feral and couldn't travel back to mainland since it was to far to swim
Dog and dingo are not separate species
How many subfamilies are there of Felidae? name them? which one no longer exists?
2
Felinae and patherinae
Acinonychinae = cheetah which was moved to the felinae
When were cats domesticated?
Commensal relationship about 10000 years ago
Probably the most recent "common" domestic animal = used for rodent control and spiritual
Cats changed very little during domestication so it is hard to determine an exact date
5 branches of candid divergence are?
South american canids
Wolf-like canids
Urocyon
Artiodia (bears)
When did wolves, coyotes and dogs diverge from canis?
Coyote and wolf diverged about 1 million years ago
wolf and dog is thought to have diverged about 40,000 years ago but this estimate has changed with different research methods
How did domestication occur? What are traits associated with it?
Commensal - brave enough to join human encampments, overly aggressive were killed or driven away = social animals with pack structure, hunting in groups, raised young collectively helped domesticate them
Morphological changes including fur and colour texture, ear shape, tail length and curvature, eye colour, alterations to face
What are the ancestors of the modern day cats? (Hint 2 of them)
Proailurus ~ 25 mya = first felid like animal in the fossil record
Pseudaelurus ~20-8 mya = ancestral to extant cats, extant panthers and extinct cats
What changes did cats face due to domestication?
Reduction in body size
increased varieties of coat colour and length
Variation in eye colour
Domestic cat has multiple estrous cycles, vs wild cats have one per year
The oldest branch of Candids is the? Which includes?
Urocyon
Grey fox - can climb trees and threatened species
Species vs. sub species?
Species = a discrete, reproductively defined system of populations with a common evolution
Sub species = a geographical or morphological variant - subspecies can interbreed
Archaeological evidence? (4 examples)
or ancient places? (6 examples)
Name at least 1 of each
Domestic dog mandible near grave ~14200 y ago
Natufian burial site ~12000 y ago
Saudi Arabia petroglyphs ~8000-9000 y ago
wolf skulls with shortened facial regions ~8000 BC
Egypt = dogs in houses, had collars & were buried
China=used for hunting, food, companion, religion
Mesoamerica =were eaten in city of 10000 people
Assyrian empire = used to hunt lions and guard
Greece = spiked collars, guard dogs, tracking
Rome = War dogs,
What cat is not like all other cats? why?
What big cat can't roar? why?
Cheetah = claws do no retract so that they can make sharp turns
Snow leopards - the hyoid bone is cartilage in roaring cats, but in non roaring cats it is bone
Archeological evidence of cats?
And ancient cities or evidence?
Jaw dating back 8000 years ago on Cyprus (cats did not exist there before this time), Skeleton on Cyprus dating 9500 years ago , Cat tooth found in 9000 year old settlement
Ancient Egypt had paintings and inscriptions, Bastet punished those who hurt cats, found a large tomb with 80000 mummified cats, Greece and Rome did not have cats in household and rarely found in their literature
The medieval period brought out the blotched tabby pattern