Variation in dental size between Pleistocene and living coyotes (Canis latrans Say, 1823) from México

Abstract

In México, the unique living member of the genus Canis Linnaeus, 1758, is the coyote (C. latrans Say, 1823). The wolf (C. lupus Linnaeus, 1758) is not considered because it is a recently reintroduced species. Not much is known about the biology and evolution of the coyote in the Mexican territory. However, the fossil record allows us to compare between the living and past members. The aim of this work is to evidence the variation in size of the teeth of the Pleistocene coyote with respect to living populations from México. For this research, we use dental material of specimens housed at paleontological and mastozoological collections. In the results, we observed a reduction in the size of all dental elements of the current coyotes with respect to the Pleistocene ones. In the case of the first upper molar (M1), the reduction is significant. The reduction in the size of skeletal elements in C. latrans has been reported in other studios. The dental narrowing observed in this canid is probably a reflection of an alteration in the diet of this mammal, as has been observed in other mammals carnivores with a similar evolutionary history (e.g., Panthera onca).