…or did climate change have an effect on dogs? [Life Lines]

Another new study published in Nature Communications shows follows along with the prior post and shows that ancestral dogs were ambush hunters that evolved from forest dwelling animals similar to a mongoose (or a cat). 

These early ancestors to dogs were ambush predators. The image shows Hesperocyon (left) and later Sunkahetanka (right). Image from Discovery News, by Mauricio Anton

An international team of researchers studied archived samples of elbows and teeth of multiple species of dogs that lived between 40 – 2 million years ago. According to a quote from study author Dr. Christine Janis published in Discovery News, “The elbow is a really good proxy for what carnivores are doing with their forelimbs, which tells their entire locomotion repertoire.” Early canines had elbows that could swivel to allow the animals to grab or wrestle with prey whereas later elbows became more downward-facing, an advantage for long-distance runs or pursuits. Their teeth also became stronger with time to perhaps hold onto prey more effectively in their new grassy environments.

From their analyses they concluded that as the forests became grasslands (due to climate changes) canines transformed from ambush hunters into “pursuit-pounce” predators.

While climate change may have played a role in the evolution of dogs, I still think cats are to blame.

Sources

Discovery News

Figueirido B, Martin-Serra A, Tseng ZJ, Janis CM. Habitat changes and changing predatory habits in North American fossil canids. Nature Communications. 6: 7976, 2015. doi:10.1038/ncomms8976

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1MyMoUZ

Another new study published in Nature Communications shows follows along with the prior post and shows that ancestral dogs were ambush hunters that evolved from forest dwelling animals similar to a mongoose (or a cat). 

These early ancestors to dogs were ambush predators. The image shows Hesperocyon (left) and later Sunkahetanka (right). Image from Discovery News, by Mauricio Anton

An international team of researchers studied archived samples of elbows and teeth of multiple species of dogs that lived between 40 – 2 million years ago. According to a quote from study author Dr. Christine Janis published in Discovery News, “The elbow is a really good proxy for what carnivores are doing with their forelimbs, which tells their entire locomotion repertoire.” Early canines had elbows that could swivel to allow the animals to grab or wrestle with prey whereas later elbows became more downward-facing, an advantage for long-distance runs or pursuits. Their teeth also became stronger with time to perhaps hold onto prey more effectively in their new grassy environments.

From their analyses they concluded that as the forests became grasslands (due to climate changes) canines transformed from ambush hunters into “pursuit-pounce” predators.

While climate change may have played a role in the evolution of dogs, I still think cats are to blame.

Sources

Discovery News

Figueirido B, Martin-Serra A, Tseng ZJ, Janis CM. Habitat changes and changing predatory habits in North American fossil canids. Nature Communications. 6: 7976, 2015. doi:10.1038/ncomms8976

from ScienceBlogs http://ift.tt/1MyMoUZ