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Vulpes riffautae; Temporal range: late Miocene
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	Vulpes
Species:	†V. riffautae
Binomial name
	†Vulpes riffautae; de Bonis et al., 2007

Vulpes riffautae is an extinct species of fox from the late Miocene of Chad (approximately 7 ma). Fossils of V. riffautae potentially represent the earliest record of the dog family, Canidae, in the Old World.^[1] V. riffautae was intermediate in size between Rüppell's fox (Vulpes rueppellii) and the fennec fox (V. zerda). The mandible is narrow and shallow. Just before the posterior root of p2, the symphysis terminates. The masseteric fossa is rather deep. The posterior smaller mental foramen is located below the posterior root of p3, while the anterior larger mental foramen is located between the root of p1 and the anterior root of p2.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c De Bonis, L.; Peigné, S.; Likius, A.; MacKaye, H.T.; Vignaud, P.; Brunet, M. (2007). "The oldest African fox (Vulpes riffautae n. sp., Canidae, Carnivora) recovered in late Miocene deposits of the Djurab desert, Chad". Naturwissenschaften. 94 (7): 575–580. doi:10.1007/s00114-007-0230-6. PMID 17361401. S2CID 6073654.