The animal that claimed the role of man’s best friend long before the dog

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Archaeologists have revealed an animal that was man’s best friend before the humble dog.

An extinct fox in Argentina might have as soon as been in that role, sharing a “strong bond” with people, analysis suggests.

Analysis of 1,500-year-old skeletal stays at a burial web site in Patagonia suggests that Dusicyon avus – also referred to as Falkland Islands wolf – was “a valuable companion to the hunter-gatherer groups”.

The fox bones belong to a single animal whereas the human stays come from 21 completely different people, in what scientists described as “a very rare and unusual find”.

The group stated the findings, printed in the journal Royal Society Open Science, represents “a unique case” of partnership between a human and a wild South American fox.

Lack of reduce marks on the bones recommend D. avus was not hunted by people for meals, the scientists stated.

Study creator Dr Ophelie Lebrasseur, of the University of Oxford’s School of Archaeology, stated: “There are several factors that led to identifying our fox as a companion or a pet rather than as part of the humans’ diet.

“None of the animal bones present any traces of cut marks, which suggests the individual was not eaten.

“The specimen was buried on a human burial site along with 21 other human beings.

“This is a very rare and unusual find, and suggests it probably held personal significance.

“Finally, its diet resembled that of the humans buried on the site rather than the diet of wild canids, including your typical Dusicyon avus.

“Such a similarity in diets suggests it was either fed by the hunter-gatherers or it fed on the kitchen refuse.”

Researchers say D. avus would have had a physique mass of round 10 to 15kg, which is about the dimension of a German shepherd.

It would have lived in numerous open areas – with grasses and low shrubs – in giant elements of South America, together with Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.

The archaeological file suggests D. avus went extinct about 500 years in the past, the group stated, however causes for his or her disappearance are unclear.

One concept is that the arrival of home canine in Patagonia someplace between 700 and 900 years in the past might have contributed to their demise.

However, the researchers stated that any doable mating between the two species wouldn’t have performed a serious role in D. avus’s extinction as a result of of “a low probability of producing viable and fertile hybrid offspring”.

And whether or not these foxes would have made good pets additionally nonetheless stays unknown.

Dr Lebrasseur stated: “Some individuals may have been less scared of humans, which may have facilitated the development of a closer bond, but we cannot currently confirm this.”

She added: “We do believe though that finding a Dusicyon avus specimen with such a close relationship with the hunter-gatherer community is very rare and really interesting, and represents quite a unique case of a human-wild South American fox partnership.”