section_path: Taxonomy/Evolution
section_name: Evolution
paragraph_text: Evolution
  
  The canid family first appears in the North American fossil record around 40 million years ago, and the canine subfamily Caninae about 32 million years ago. From the Caninae, the ancestors of the fox-like Vulpini and the dog-like Canini branched off about 9 million years ago. The Canini are first represented by Eucyon, and mostly by coyote -like Eucyon davisi that was widely spread across North America. From the Canini the Cerdocyonina developed 6–5 million years ago, today represented by their canid descendants distinctly native to South America. Fossils of its sister clade, the wolf-like Canina, first appear 5 million years ago; however, they are believed to have likely originated as far back as 9 million years ago. Around 7 million years ago, the canines expanded into Eurasia and Africa, with Eucyon giving rise to the first members of the Canis genus in Europe. Around 4–3 million years ago C. chihliensis, the first wolf-sized member of Canis, arose in China and radiated into multiple other wolf-like canids across Eurasia and Africa. Members of the genus Canis later expand back into North America.
  
  The dire wolf evolved in North America. However, its ancestral lineage is debated, with two competing theories: The first theory is based on fossil morphology, which indicates that an expansion of the genus Canis out of Eurasia led to the dire wolf. The second theory is based on DNA evidence, which indicates that the dire wolf arose from an ancestral lineage that originated in the Americas and was separate from the genus Canis.