Coyote
Canis latrans
Summary 3
The coyote (Canis latrans); from Nahuatl pronunciation (help·info)) is a canine native to North America. It is smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological niche as the golden jackal does in Eurasia, though it is larger and more predatory, and is sometimes called the American jackal by zoologists.
Description 4
Coyotes are among the most adaptable mammals in North America. They have an enormous geographical distribution and can live in very diverse ecological settings, even successfully making their homes in suburbs, towns, and cities. They are omnivorous, eating plants, animals, and carrion. Socially, coyotes live in a variety of arrangements. Some live alone, others in mated pairs, and others in packs, which may consist of one mated pair, their new young, and offspring from the previous season that have not yet left their parents. Packs are an advantage when preying on larger mammals such as deer, or defending food resources, territory, and themselves.
Adaptation: The upper and lower cheek teeth of a Coyote, Canis latrans, are blade-like, with sharp shearing edges that cut food in scissors-like fashion. The foremost shearing teeth, known as carnassials, are clearly larger than the others.
Links:
Mammal Species of the World
Click here for The American Society of Mammalogists species account
Sources and Credits
- (c) Joe MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joe MacIndewar
- (c) Yathin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/36751725@N00/3192236295
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canis_latrans
- (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/6624607
