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Three wild dogs on the move in morning mist

Dogs

The dog family (Canidae) contains all the fox, wolf, coyote, jackal and dog species. Wild canids are found on every continent, with the exception of Antarctica.

Scientific name: Canidae

Rank: Family

Common names:

Canines

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Distribution

Map showing the distribution of the Dogs taxa

The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.

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When they lived

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About

The Canidae (pron.: /ˈkænɨdiː/) are the biological family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals that includes domestic dogs, wolves, foxes, jackals, coyotes, and many other lesser known extant and extinct dog-like mammals. A member of this family is called a canid (/ˈkeɪnɨd/). The Canidae family is divided into two tribes: Canini (related to wolves) and Vulpini (related to foxes). The two species of the basal Caninae are more primitive and do not fit into either tribe.

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