Reconstruction of the likely appearance in life of the officially-extinct
Argentinian avus fox Dusicyon avus (©
Juandertail/Wikipedia – CC BY-SA 4.0 licence)
South America's so-called foxes are
mis-named, as these native wild dogs are more closely related to wolves and
domestic dogs than to the true, Old World foxes, genus Vulpes. They constitute several different species and genera, some
very much alive, others long extinct. And then there is one, Dusicyon avus, or Argentina's avus fox
for convenience, that although extinct today, died out only recently, in around
400 BP (1454-1626 AD), and for mystifying reasons that have yet to be
conclusively established.
Moreover, another, newly-revealed mystery
surrounds this enigmatic canid – was it the first (and only) mainland South
American fox species to have been domesticated by humans?
The reason for this unexpected line of
speculation derives from a new and truly remarkable archaeological discovery –
the remains of an avus fox purposefully buried inside a human grave dating back
1500 years in a burial site at Cañada Seca, in Patagonia, Argentina.
Another avus fox had been found inside an
even older human grave almost a decade previously elsewhere in Argentina, at
Loma de los Muertos in General Conesa, but
what makes the later, Patagonian find so interesting is that whereas the diet
of the earlier specimen had not been examined, DNA analysis has shown that the
Patagonian specimen had dined with prehistoric hunter gatherers and was part of
their camp's inner circle. Click here to access the original scientific paper
formally documenting this research.
Commenting upon this find's extreme rarity,
Dr Ophélie Lebrasseur from the University of Oxford opined here: "I think it was more than
just symbolic; I really do think it was companionship".
Taxiderm specimen of the Falklands Island wolf or warrah Dusicyon australis held at New Zealand's
Tūhura Otago Museum (© Kane Fleury/MothmanNZ/Otago
Museum/Wikipedia – CC BY 4.0 licence)
Also relevant is that the avus fox's
closest relative is also nowadays extinct, but became so even more recently, in
1876, after being not only hunted for its fur but also deliberately poisoned by
farmers concerned that it may pose a threat to their sheep.
Indigenous to the Falkland Islands and traditionally
deemed their only native species of land mammal, the so-called Falklands wolf
or warrah D. australis has lately
been considered by some researchers to have been introduced here in
domesticated form by human voyagers from South America (worth noting is that
the warrah was remarkably tame, wholly unafraid of humans).
Additionally, DNA analyses have revealed
that it diverged evolutionarily from the avus fox a mere 16,000 years ago. In
short, a creature intimately allied to the avus fox was still alive as recently
as the mid-1870s.
This leads me to wonder whether, as the avus
fox's own historical, mainland extinction remains unresolved, perhaps that is
because such an event never actually happened. That is, perhaps a remnant avus
fox population still lurks scientifically undetected amid the wildernesses of
Argentina, within Patagonia's vast pampas expanses, having retreated there once
domestic dogs arrived in South Anerica and supplanted the avus fox in the
affections of humans?
All of this is currently speculative, of
course, but fascinating nonetheless.
Vintage illustration
of the Falklands Islands wolf, by H. Smith, 1850 (public domain)