Canis lupus has 39
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
currently described, including two subspecies of domestic dog,
Canis lupus dingoThe Dingo is a domestic dog which has reverted to a wild state for thousands of years and today lives largely independent from humans in the majority of its distribution....
and
Canis lupus familiarisThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
, and many subspecies of wolf throughout the northern hemisphere. The nominative subspecies is
Canis lupus lupus.
Biological taxonomy is not fixed, and placement of taxa is reviewed as a result of new research. The current categorization of subspecies of
Canis lupus is shown below.
Canis lupus has 39
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
currently described, including two subspecies of domestic dog,
Canis lupus dingoThe Dingo is a domestic dog which has reverted to a wild state for thousands of years and today lives largely independent from humans in the majority of its distribution....
and
Canis lupus familiarisThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
, and many subspecies of wolf throughout the northern hemisphere. The nominative subspecies is
Canis lupus lupus.
Biological taxonomy is not fixed, and placement of taxa is reviewed as a result of new research. The current categorization of subspecies of
Canis lupus is shown below. Also included are synonyms, which are now-discarded duplicate or incorrect namings. Common names are given but may vary, as they have no set meaning.
List of Subspecies
Canis lupus subspecies
| Subspecies |
Author |
Common Name |
Canis lupus lupusThe Eurasian Wolf , also known as the Common Wolf, European Wolf and Carpathian Wolf is a subspecies of the Grey Wolf...
|
Linnaeus, 1758 |
Common (Eurasian) Grey Wolf |
| Canis lupus albus |
Kerr, 1792 |
Tundra Wolf, Turukhan Wolf, Arctic Wolf, White Wolf (Finland to eastern Russia) |
| Canis lupus alces |
Goldman, 1941 |
Kenai (Alaska) Peninsula Wolf, extinct by 1925 |
Canis lupus arabsThe Arabian wolf is a subspecies of Gray Wolf which was once found throughout the Arabian Peninsula, but now only lives in small pockets in Southern Israel, Oman, Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and probably in some parts of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.-Features and adaptations:The Arabian wolf is a...
|
Pocock, 1934 |
Arabian Wolf (Saudi Arabia) |
Canis lupus arctosThe Arctic Wolf , also called Polar Wolf or White Wolf, is a mammal of the Canidae family, and a subspecies of the Gray Wolf...
|
Pocock, 1935 |
Arctic Wolf, White Wolf, Polar Wolf (Northern Canada, Greenland) |
Canis lupus baileyiThe Mexican Wolf is a subspecies of the Gray Wolf. It is native to North America, where it is the rarest and most genetically distinct subspecies.- Physical features :...
|
Nelson and Goldman, 1929 |
Mexican Wolf (central Mexico to southwestern United States) |
| Canis lupus beothucus The Newfoundland wolf was a sub-species of the gray wolf, Canis lupus, which existed on the island of Newfoundland off the east coast of Canada...
|
G. M. Allen and Barbour, 1937 |
Newfoundland Wolf (Newfoundland, Canada) (extinct) |
| Canis lupus bernardi |
Anderson, 1943 |
Bernard's Wolf (Arctic) |
| Canis lupus campestris |
Dwigubski, 1804 |
Steppe Wolf (Central Asia) |
Canis lupus chancoThe Tibetan wolf , also known as the Chinese wolf, Mongolian wolf, Korean wolf, Steppes wolf or Woolly wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf found in parts of Central China, southwest Russia, Manchuria, Tibet and the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal and Bhutan...
|
Gray, 1863 |
Tibetan wolf, Himalayan wolf, Chinese wolf |
| Canis lupus columbianus |
Goldman, 1941 |
British Columbia Wolf (Western Canada) (extinct) |
| Canis lupus crassodon |
Hall, 1932 |
Vancouver Island WolfThe Vancouver Island Wolf is a subspecies of grey wolf, endemic to Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is very...
(Canada) |
Canis lupus dingoThe Dingo is a domestic dog which has reverted to a wild state for thousands of years and today lives largely independent from humans in the majority of its distribution....
|
Meyer, 1793 |
Dingo, mostly wild living domestic dog of AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
and South-east Asia: dingo and familiaris provisionally separate, 2003 |
Canis lupus familiarisThe dog is a domesticated form of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The domestic dog has been one of the most widely kept working and companion animals in human history...
|
Linnaeus, 1758 |
Domestic dog |
| Canis lupus floridanus |
Miller, 1912 |
Florida Black Wolf (Florida, United States) (extinct) |
| Canis lupus fuscus |
Richardson, 1839 |
Cascade Mountain Wolf (Cascade MountainsThe Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
, Canada and United States) |
| Canis lupus gregoryi |
Goldman, 1937 |
|
| Canis lupus griseoalbus |
Baird, 1858; syn. knightii (Anderson, 1945) |
Manitoba Wolf (Central Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan, Canada) (extinct) |
| Canis lupus hattai |
Kishida, 1931 |
Hokkaidō Wolf (Japan) (extinct) |
| Canis lupus hodophilax |
Temminck, 1839 |
Honshū Wolf (Honshū Islands, Japan) (extinct) |
| Canis lupus hudsonicus |
Goldman, 1941 |
Hudson Bay Wolf, Tundra Wolf (Alaska and Canada) |
| Canis lupus irremotus |
Goldman, 1937 |
Northern Rocky Mountains Wolf (Rocky Mountains, United States and Canada) |
| Canis lupus labradorius |
Goldman, 1937 |
Labrador Wolf (Northern Quebec and Labrador, Canada) |
| Canis lupus ligoni |
Goldman, 1937 |
Alexander Archipelago Wolf (Alexander Archipelago Islands in the Arctic) |
| Canis lupus lycaon |
Schreber, 1775 |
Eastern North America Timber Wolf |
| Canis lupus mackenzii |
Anderson, 1943 |
Mackenzie Tundra Wolf (Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River originates in Great Slave Lake, in the Northwest Territories, and flows north into the Arctic Ocean. It is the longest river in Canada at and, together with its headstreams the Peace and the Finlay, the second longest river in North America at in length. The Mackenzie and...
drainage, Canada) |
| Canis lupus manningi |
Anderson, 1943 |
Baffin Island Wolf (Baffin IslandBaffin Island in the territory of Nunavut is the largest member of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world, with an area of and has a population of 11,000...
, Canada) |
| Canis lupus mogollonensis |
Goldman, 1937 |
Mogollon Mountain Wolf (Mogollon, New MexicoMogollon, also called the Mogollon Historic District, is a former mining town located in the Mogollon Mountains in Catron County, New Mexico, in the United States. Located east of Glenwood and Alma, it was founded in the 1880s at the bottom of Silver Creek Canyon to support the gold and silver...
, southwest United States) (extinct) |
| Canis lupus monstrabilis |
Goldman, 1937; syn. niger (Bartram, 1791) |
Texas Wolf (Texas, US and northern Mexico) (extinct, 1942) |
| Canis lupus nubilus |
Say, 1823 |
Great Plains Wolf (Central North America) |
| Canis lupus occidentalis |
Richardson, 1829 |
Rocky Mountain Wolf (Canada, US) |
| Canis lupus orion |
Pocock, 1935 |
|
| Canis lupus pallipes |
Sykes, 1831 |
Iranian Wolf (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India) |
| Canis lupus pambasileus |
Elliot, 1905 |
|
| Canis lupus rufus |
Audubon and Bachman, 1851 |
Red Wolf (Perhaps a hybrid, status uncertain) |
| Canis lupus tundrarum |
Miller, 1912 |
Alaskan Tundra Wolf (northeastern Alaska, USA), heavier dentition than pambasileus |
| Canis lupus youngi |
Goldman, 1937 |
|
Disputed distinct subspecies and species
Two subspecies not mentioned in the list above include the Italian Wolf (
Canis lupus italicus) and the Iberian Wolf (
Canis lupus signatus). The wolves of the Italian and Iberian peninsulas are morphologically and genetically distinct from other European wolves and each are now considered to represent their own subspecies.
In addition, recent genetic research suggests that the
Indian WolfRecent genetic research suggests that the Indian Wolf, originally considered only as a subpopulation of the Iranian Wolf , may represent a distinct species . Similar results were obtained for the Himalayan wolf, which is traditionally placed into the Tibetan wolf...
, originally considered only as a subpopulation of the
Iranian WolfThe Iranian wolf is a subspecies of Grey Wolf which ranges from Lebanon, Northern Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. The Iranian wolf was thought to be the most likely direct ancestor of the Dingo , however recent evidence has shown that the dingo most likely descended...
(
Canis lupus pallipes), may represent a distinct species (
Canis indica). Similar results were obtained for the
Himalayan wolfThe Himalayan Wolf was originally thought to belong to Tibetan wolf , which is a subspecies of the Gray wolf, but now may represent a distinct canid species, Canis himalayensis....
, which is traditionally placed into the
Tibetan wolfThe Tibetan wolf , also known as the Chinese wolf, Mongolian wolf, Korean wolf, Steppes wolf or Woolly wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf found in parts of Central China, southwest Russia, Manchuria, Tibet and the Himalayan regions of India, Nepal and Bhutan...
(
Canis lupus laniger)
.
Geographical variations
Wolves show a great deal of dimorphism geographically, though they can interbreed. The Zoological Gardens of London for example once successfully managed to mate a male European wolf to an Indian female, resulting in a cub bearing an almost exact likeness to its sire.
Europe
European wolves tend to have long, more highly placed ears, narrow heads, slender loins and coarse fur. Pelt colour in European wolves ranges from white, cream, red, grey and black, sometimes with all colors combined. Wolves in central Europe tend to be more richly coloured than those in Northern Europe. Eastern European wolves tend to be shorter and more heavily built than Northern Russian ones.
North America
North American wolves are, overall, generally the same size as European breeds, but have have larger, rounder heads, broader, more obtuse muzzles, shorter legs, have more luxuriant fur and are usually more robust. They typically lack the black mark on the forelegs, as is the case in European races. Fur colour in American wolves ranges from white, black, red, yellow, brown, gray, and grizzled skins, and others representing every shade between, although usually each locality has its prevailing tint. There are pronounced differences in North American wolves of different localities; wolves from Texas and New Mexico are comparitively slim animals with small teeth. Mexican wolves in particular resemble some European wolves in stature, though their heads are usually broader, their necks thicker, their ears longer and their tails shorter. Wolves of the central and northern chains of the Rocky Mountains and coastal ranges are more formidable animals than the more southern plains wolves, and resemble Russian and Scandinavian wolves in size and proportions.
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