Editing Canidae (section)

===Pliocene epoch===
The ''[[Canis]]'', ''[[Urocyon]]'', and ''[[Vulpes]]'' genera developed from canids from [[North America]], where the canine radiation began. The success of these canids was related to the development of lower [[carnassial]]s that were capable of both [[mastication]] and shearing.<ref name=Gittleman/> Around 5 million years ago, some of the Old World ''[[Eucyon]]'' evolved into the first members of ''Canis'',<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Perri|first1=Angela R.|last2=Mitchell|first2=Kieren J.|last3=Mouton|first3=Alice|last4=Álvarez-Carretero|first4=Sandra|last5=Hulme-Beaman|first5=Ardern|last6=Haile|first6=James|last7=Jamieson|first7=Alexandra|last8=Meachen|first8=Julie|last9=Lin|first9=Audrey T.|last10=Schubert|first10=Blaine W.|last11=Ameen|first11=Carly|date=2021-01-13|title=Dire wolves were the last of an ancient New World canid lineage|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03082-x|journal=Nature|volume=591|issue=7848|language=en|pages=87–91|doi=10.1038/s41586-020-03082-x|pmid=33442059|bibcode=2021Natur.591...87P|s2cid=231604957 |issn=1476-4687}}</ref> In the [[Pliocene]], around 4–5 Mya, ''[[Canis lepophagus]]'' appeared in North America. This was small and sometimes coyote-like. Others were wolf-like. ''C. latrans'' (the coyote) is theorized to descend from ''C. lepophagus''.<ref>Nowak, R.M. 1979. North American Quaternary Canis. Monograph of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas 6:1 – 154.</ref>

The formation of the [[Isthmus of Panama]], about 3 Mya, joined [[South America]] to North America, allowing canids to [[Great American Interchange|invade South America]], where they diversified. However, the last common ancestor of the South American canids lived in North America some 4 Mya and more than one incursion across the new land bridge is likely given the fact that more than one lineage is present in South America. Two North American lineages found in South America are the [[gray fox]] (''Urocyon cinereoargentus'') and the now-extinct [[dire wolf]] (''Aenocyon dirus''). Besides these, there are species endemic to South America: the [[maned wolf]] (''Chrysocyon brachyurus''), the [[short-eared dog]] (''Atelocynus microtis''), the [[bush dog]] (''Speothos venaticus''), the [[crab-eating fox]] (''Cerdocyon thous''), and the [[South American fox]]es (''Lycalopex'' [[spp.]]). The monophyly of this group has been established by molecular means.<ref name=Perini/>