PNAS overturns the long-held assumption that the true origin of South American canids is

There are more canines in South America than anywhere else on the planet, and a surprising new genomic analysis led by UCLA shows that all of these dog-like animals evolved from a single species that entered South America 3.

More surprising? The tallest and shortest species are the closest species

Over the past few thousand years, a number of key genetic mutations have led to rapid extreme changes in height, body size and diet in South American canines, and these genetic mutations were introduced through artificial selection breeding, resulting in a more common canine – the domestic dog – of alarming diversity

The study, published in PNAS, shows how quickly new carnivore species evolve and spread in an environment where competition is lacking and provides guidance

Ten canids of the dog and wolf families live in today's South America

For years, scientists have had a theory about how South America became home

To understand how these species were related, how long ago, and by what genetic mechanisms they diverged, UCLA doctoral student Daniel Chávez, now a postdoctoral researcher at Arizona State University, and Robert Wayne, a professor of evolutionary biology at UCLA, sequenced

Surprisingly, genetic data suggest that 3.

Chavez said: "We found that all existing canids came from a single invasion

Chavez said: "There are many other now-extinct super carnivores related to

This rapid and extreme speciation through natural selection is similar to the huge differentiation

"South American canids are domestic dogs in the wildlife kingdom whose legs and diet vary greatly, and these changes happen very quickly, about 1 to 2 million years

The findings also shed light on the relationship between species and identified genes, helping to save species

"The Darwin fox currently only exists on an island off the coast of Chile and in a very small area on the mainland, which is a good example of the need for conservation