Walter Woelber Dalquest

“ Although some uncertainty remains as to the familial position of Cynarctus, we favor Galbreath's view that the genus belongs in the family Canidae.
The holotype of Cynarctus crucidens is from Williams Canyon, Brown County, Nebraska. According to C. B. Schultz (in litt., December 6, 1961) , Williams Canyon is a tributary of Plumb Creek; the upper part of the Valentine formation and the younger lower part of the Ash Hollow formation are exposed in Williams Canyon; which one of these formations yielded the holotype of C. crucidens is unknown. ”

“ Indeed, no other canid that we know of has teeth so much adapted to a frugivorous diet as are those of C. fortidens. Its degree of adaptation to a frugivorous diet is more than in the procyonid genus Nasua but less than in the procyonid genus Bassaricyon. ”

“ Remarks.—The lower jaw and its second molar seem to be from an individual significantly larger than the holotype. Possibly the lower jaw and upper jaw are from two species but the lower jaw probably is from a male and the upper jaw from a female of the same species.
Reasons for regarding Cynarctus as belonging to the family Canidae instead of to the family Procyonidae have been stated recently in detail by E. C. Galbreath (Remarks on Cynarctoides acridens from the Miocene of Colorado. Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci., 59 (3) :373-378, 1 fig., October 31, 1956) and need not be repeated here. ”