The African wild dog, also known as the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus Lycaon, which is distinguished from Canis by dentition highly specialised for a hypercarnivorous diet and by a lack of dewclaws.
African wild dog
Fossil of Lycaon sekowei, a possible ancestor of the modern African wild dog
Closeup of an African wild dog in Kruger National Park
Play fighting after a kill in Tswalu Kalahari Reserve
The Caninae, known as canines, are one of three subfamilies found within the canid family. The other two canid subfamilies are the extinct Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae. The Caninae includes all living canids and their most recent fossil relatives. Their fossils were first found in North America and dated to the Oligocene era, then spreading to Asia at the end of the Miocene era, some 7 million to 8 million years ago.
Caninae
Image: Wolf on alert
Image: Dhole (Asiatic wild dog) cropped
Image: African wild dog (Lycaon pictus pictus)