9707555 Tedford The living members of the dog family (Canidae) consist of a diverse group of predators (foxes, jackals, wolves, hunting dogs, and domestic dogs) that belong to a closely knit group, the subfamily Caninae. The dog family includes two other subfamilies (Hesperocyoninae and Borophahinae), both of which are extinct. Tedford and Wang of the American Museum of Natural History will undertake a comprehensive study of the phylogenetic relationships and biostratigraphy of North American fossil canines as the final chapter of their long-term, high-resolution study of the evolution of the family Canidae from the late Eocene (roughly 40 million years ago) until present. They will acquire morphological data from both fossil and extant canines and will utilize recently-available molecular phylogenies to describe new taxa and to document canine diversity, biochronology, and zoogeography. The material for the study will come from several collections of fossil mammals, including the comprehensive Childs Frick Collection at the American Museum. The project thoroughly delineates the history of Caninae in North America and permits analysis and documentation of their complex movements to and from other continents. The project also will engender a database that will allow investigation of a number of topics including geological succession, functional morphology, and response to short and long-term environmental change.
