:Nyctereutes

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Nyctereutes

| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|5.332|0}} Late Miocene - recent

| image = Nyctereutes.png

| image_caption = Common and Japanese raccoon dog

| taxon = Nyctereutes

| authority = Temminck, 1838

| type_species = Canis viverrinus

| type_species_authority = Temminck, 1838

| subdivision_ranks = Species

| subdivision =

N. procyonoides

N. viverrinus

}}

Nyctereutes (Greek: nyx, nykt- "night" + ereutēs "wanderer") is a genus of canid which includes only two extant species, both known as raccoon dogs: the common raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) and the Japanese raccoon dog (Nyctereutes viverrinus). Nyctereutes first entered the fossil record 5.5 million years ago (Mya) in northern China. It was one of the earliest canines to arrive in the Old World. All but two species became extinct before the end of the Pleistocene. A study suggests that the evolution of Nyctereutes was influenced by environmental and climatic changes, such as the expansion and contraction of forests and the fluctuations of temperature and precipitation.

Characteristics

They are typically recognized by their short snouts, round crania and the shaping of their molars, specifically the ratio between M1 and M2. Nyctereutes is considered mainly an opportunistic carnivore, feeding on small mammals, fish, birds, and insects, alongside occasional plants, specifically roots. Their diet is mostly influenced by environmental factors. Japanese raccoon dogs are considered distinct from the mainland species because of the larger skull size found in Russian and Hokkaido raccoon dogs.

Species

=Extant species=

{{Species table |genus=Nyctereutes |authority-name= Temminck |authority-year= 1838 |species-count=two|no-note=y|narrow-percent=75}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Common raccoon dog |binomial=Nyctereutes procyonoides

|image=File:Nyctereutes procyonoides - Raccoon Dog - Jenot.png |image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Gray |authority-year= 1834 |authority-not-original=yes

|range= Mongolia, Russian Far East, China, Korea, Vietnam; introduced to Europe

|range-image=File:Raccoon Dog area.png

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

|subspecies={{Collapsible list |expand=yes |title=Four subspecies |bullets=on

| N. p. procyonoides

| N. p. koreensis

| N. p. orestes

| N. p. ussuriensis

}}

{{Species table/row

|name= Japanese raccoon dog |binomial=Nyctereutes viverrinus

|image=File:Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=

|authority-name=Temminck |authority-year= 1838 |authority-not-original=yes

|range= Japan

|range-image=

|range-image-size=180px

|size=

|habitat=

|hunting=

|iucn-status= LC

|population=

|direction=

}}

=Fossil species=

File:Nyctereutes megamastoides.JPG

†Nyctereutes abdeslami 3.6—1.8 Mya (Morocco)[https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=72180 Paleobiology Database: Nyctereutes abdeslami'' basic info.]
†Nyctereutes donnezani 9.0—3.4 Mya (Eastern Europe, Spain)
†Nyctereutes lockwoodi 3.42—3.2 Mya (Ethiopia){{cite journal |last1= Geraads |first1= D. |last2= Alemseged |first2= Z. |display-authors=etal |date= 2010 |title= Nyctereutes lockwoodi, n. sp., a new canid (Carnivora: Mammalia) from the middle Pliocene of Dikika, Lower Awash, Ethiopia |journal= Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume= 30 |issue= 2 |pages= 981–987 |doi= 10.1080/02724631003758326|s2cid= 83954055 }}
†Nyctereutes megamastoides (Europe)
†Nyctereutes sinensis 3.6 Mya—781,000 years ago (Eastern Asia)[https://paleodb.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?action=checkTaxonInfo&taxon_name=Nyctereutes+sinensis&is_real_user=1 Paleobiology Database: Nyctereutes sinensis'' basic info.]
†Nyctereutes tingi
†Nyctereutes vinetorum{{citation needed|date=March 2023}}

References

{{Reflist|refs=

{{cite journal |last1=Temminck |first1=C.J. |year=1838 |title=Over de Kennis en de Verbreiding der Zoogdieren van Japan |trans-title=On the Knowledge and Dissemination of the Mammals of Japan |language=nl |journal=Tijdschrift voor Natuurlijke Geschiedenis en Physiologie |volume=5 |pages=273–293 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13475079 }}

{{cite journal |last1=Farjand |first1=Arya |last2=Zhang |first2=Zhao-Qun |last3=Liu |first3=Wen-Hui |last4=Jiao |first4=Chen-Hui |last5=Wang |first5=Li-Hua |title=The evolution of Nyctereutes (Carnivora: Canidae) in the Nihewan Basin, Hebei, northern China |journal=Palaeoworld |date=June 2021 |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=373–381 |doi=10.1016/j.palwor.2020.07.002 |s2cid=225565692 }}

{{cite journal |last1=Kim | first= Sang-In | last2=Oshida | first2=Tatsuo | last3= Lee | first3=Hang | last4=Min | first4=Mi-Sook | last5=Kimura | first5=Junpei | year=2015 | title=Evolutionary and Biogeographical implications of variation in skull morphology of raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides, Mammalia: Carnivora) | journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society | volume=116 | issue=1 | pages=856–872 | doi=10.1111/bij.12629 | doi-access=free }}

}}