At about four million years old, Vulpes mathisoni lived at a time when our own ancestors were just getting the hang of walking upright. Superficially, the canid probably didn’t look very much different from foxes, like the sand fox, you can see padding around Africa today. Still, its age and anatomy indicate that it was probably one of the earliest foxes belonging to a group that subsequently proliferated through southern Africa. These foxes weren’t as carnivorous as those to the north. Their back teeth had expanded space for crushing, Geraads and coauthors note, making them scrappy little generalists that ate what they could and avoided competition with the larger, more carnivorous cats and dogs they lived alongside.

Geraads, D.,