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Size comparison with a human. The average dire wolf proportions were similar to those of two modern North American wolves: the Yukon wolf (Canis lupus pambasileus) [56] [13] and the Northwestern wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis). [56] The largest northern wolves today have a shoulder height of up to 38 in (97 cm) and a body length of 69 in (180 cm).
Another study of the Lake Taimyr wolf found that its comparatively small size and characters of the cheekteeth and skull raised the possibility that it might have been a domesticated or semi-domesticated animal. [43]: 1033 The increased skull width in comparison to extant wolves indicated pronounced development of the temporalis muscles.
In comparison with the Beringian wolf, the more southerly occurring dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) was the same size but heavier and with a more robust skull and dentition. The unique adaptation of the skull and dentition of the Beringian wolf allowed it to produce relatively large bite forces, grapple with large struggling prey, and therefore made ...
True members of Canis, namely the gray wolf and coyote, likely only arrived in the New World during the Late Pleistocene, where their dietary flexibility and/or ability to hybridize with other canids allowed them to survive the Quaternary extinction event, unlike the dire wolf. [14] Xenocyon (strange wolf) is an extinct subgenus of Canis. [15]
Diagram of a wolf skull with key features labelled. The origin of dogs is couched in the biogeography of wolf populations that lived during the Late Pleistocene. [1] The fossil record shows evidence of changes in the morphology and body size of wolves during the Late Pleistocene, which may be due to differences in their prey size.
The long-term isolation of the dire wolf lineage implies that other American fossil taxa, including C. armbrusteri and C. edwardii, may also belong to the dire wolf's lineage. [13] In the 2024 study, the Armbruster's wolf is considered as a species of Aenocyon , while C. edwardii is considered more closely related to the modern coyote .
† Dire wolf [31] † Aenocyon dirus: Over 4.000 individuals A large wolf-like carnivore, the dire wolf was the most common predator found in the tar pits of La Brea, outnumbering the slightly smaller grey wolf over 100-fold. They could reach a weight of approximately 68 kg (150 lb).
Nowak compared the orbital angles of four North American canines (including the Indian dog) and produced the following values in degrees: coyote-42.8, wolf-42.8, dog-52.9 dire wolf-53.1. The orbital angle of the eye socket was clearly larger in the dog than in the coyote and the wolf; why it was almost the same as that of the dire wolf was not ...