Competition from the cat family is what played a role in driving many species of ancient dogs to extinction, scientists have found.
A new international study led by author Daniele Silvestro at the University of Gothenburg analysed over 2000 fossils and showed that competition played a more important role in the evolution of the dog family (wolves, foxes, and their relatives) than climate change, even though climate change is expected climate to play an overwhelming role in the evolution of biodiversity.
It revealed that the arrival of felids to North America from Asia had a deadly impact on the diversity of the dog family, contributing to the extinction of as many as 40 of their species.
The evolutionary success of carnivorous animals is inevitably linked to their ability to obtain food. The limited amount of resources (preys) imposes strong competition among carnivores sharing the same geographic range.
For instance African carnivores such as wild dogs, hyenas, lions and other felids are constantly competing with each other for food. North American carnivores in the past might have followed similar dynamics and much of the competition is found among species of the dog family and from ancient felids and dogs. Interestingly, while felids appeared to have a strongly negative impact on the survival of ancient dogs, the opposite is not true. This suggests that felids must have been more efficient predators than most of the extinct species in the dog family.
The study is published in PNAS.