Speothos

"Taxobox
name = "Speothos"
fossil_range = Pleistocene to Recent


image_width = 225px
image_caption = A Bush Dog ("Speothos venaticus") in the zoo of Stuttgart, Germany.
Photo by R. Schmode.
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Carnivora
familia = Canidae
subfamilia = Caninae
genus = "Speothos"
genus_authority = Lund, 1839
type_species = †"Speothos pacivorus"
subdivision_ranks = Species
subdivision =
* †"Speothos pacivorus"
* "Speothos venaticus"
synonyms =
* "Icticyon" Lund, 1843
* "Abathmodon" Lund, 1843

"Speothos" is a genus of canid found in Central and South America. The genus includes the living Bush Dog, "Speothos venaticus", as well as an extinct Pleistocene species, "Speothos pacivorus". Surprisingly, the fossil species was identified and named prior to the discovery of the extant species, with the result that the type species of "Speothos" is "S. pacivorus".

References

*Berta A., 1984. The Pleistocene Bush Dog "Speothos pacivorus" (Canidae) from the Lagoa Santa Caves, Brazil "Journal of Mammalogy" 65(4):549-559.