The family Canidae evolved in North America andsubsequently radiated to South America, Eurasia andAfrica. In South America, they are represented by sevengenera and 11 species (Berta, 1987). Extinction of largeSouth American canids at the end of the Pleistocenefollowed the extinction of their large herbivore prey base.The present pattern of canid distribution in South Americamay be explained by assuming that a group of species ofgeneralized grassland canids colonized suitable grasslandhabitats along the Andes, reaching the southern pampasand Patagonian grasslands as well as spreading over theBrazilian highlands (Langguth, 1975). The current highdiversity of South American canids is, at least in part, theresult of an opportunistic strategy of feeding on small preyas well as on fruit and grains (Berta, 1987)
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