Canidae

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/canidae

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Canidae
2. What is the origin?North America, with a fossil record dating back over 50 million years
3. What is the Canidae family?The Canidae family is a group of animals that includes dogs, wolves, foxes, and many other dog-like creatures. They have lived for more than 50 million years and can be found on almost every continent.
4. Why can canids live in so many different places?Canids are very adaptable. Their bodies and behaviors have changed over time so they can live in cold tundra, hot deserts, forests, grasslands, and mountains.

Phylogeny: The evolutionary history and relationships among a species or group of species.
Adaptive Radiation: The diversification of a group of organisms into forms filling different ecological niches.
Trophic Cascade: An ecological process that starts at the top of the food chain and tumbles down to lower levels.
Mesopredator: A mid-level predator that is often prey for larger apex predators.