Episode 32A: Canids

08/05/14 • 38 min

We're all familiar with canines (dogs, wolves, jackals, foxs, etc), but these are just only one of three sub-families of the larger canid family to survive to the present day. There were also the Hesperocyoninae and Borophaginae, but what did these other canids look like and why did they go extinct? The canid family also falls within the larger suborder Caniformia which includes skunks, bears and seals, but how are all these related?

We've therefore quite a lot of history of the group to cover before we eventually see Canis lupus familiaris become man's best friend. To talk us through their evolution is Dr Xiaoming Wang of the Natural History Museum, Los Angeles.

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Episode 31: Anomalocaridids

Anomalocaridids are iconic Cambrian animals, originally found in the Burgess Shale deposits in Canada. From the Genus Anomalocaris, their name translates as 'strange shrimp' owing to their initial misidentification from incomplete remains. In fact, it took until 1985 to realise that three different animals were all actually disarticulated parts of the same animal! Our knowledge of these enigmatic creatures has increased exponentially in recent years owing to many exciting new fossil discoveries, as well as reanalysis of old specimens using new technologies. Researchers are building up a picture of a group of animals far more diverse than previously expected, including apex predators as well as possible filter feeders and scavengers. Their temporal range is surprising too - they survived the end Cambrian extinctions when many other taxa died out, and many questions about their ecology, relationships and extinction remain to be answered.

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Episode 32B: Canids

We’re all familiar with canines (dogs, wolves, jackals, foxes, etc), but these are just only one of three sub-families of the larger canid family to survive to the present day. There were also the Hesperocyoninae and Borophaginae, but what did these other canids look like and why did they go extinct? The canid family also falls within the larger suborder Caniformia which includes skunks, bears and seals, but how are all these related?