A PHYLOGENY OF THE GENUS NYCTEREUTES TEMMINCK, 1838 (MAMMALIA: CARNIVORA: CANIDAE), INCLUDING A NEW SPECIES FROM ÇALTA (TURKEY)

The phylogenetic relationships of the raccoon-dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides, were matter of debate in the last decades. Morphological phylogenies recognized some affinities between Nyctereutes and some South American canids, e.g. Cerdocyon, whereas more recent molecular studies support the inclusion of the raccoon-dog in the tribe Vulpini together with the genera Vulpes and Otocyon. The present study reports the first most-parsimonious analysis on extant and fossil species of Nyctereutes using a dataset of 115 ad hoc selected cranial, dentognatic, cerebral and postcranial characters, analyzed through the freeware software TNT v. 1.5. The resulting strict consensus tree (tested with bootstrap and decay techniques) shows the presence of two clades: one made up by the African N. lockwoodi and N. terblanchei, and one composed of the enigmatic N. barryi from Laetoli, all the other Eurasian species and also N. abdeslami from Morocco. The resulting arrangement partially confirms previous hypotheses on the relationships among the fossil Nyctereutes, although it points out several unexpected pattern to the intricate taxonomic tangle of fossil raccoon-dogs. The results supports the development of two different models to explain the dispersal of the ancestors of this genus from North America into the Old World. Lastly, the analysis reveals the peculiarity of the Nyctereutes from Çalta (Turkey). Previous descriptions related this taxon to N. donnezani. Our analysis points out a closer affinity to morphologically derived Nyctereutes, therefore, we suggest the ascription of the taxon to a new species.