Origin of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus)
Please note that what is written below are ideas put forward by scientists, and some have not yet been proven.
Many biologists believe that the wolf we know today originated from a primitive carnivore species known as Miacids. The Miacids ranged from being gopher-sized to dog-sized and appeared in the Tertiary Period about fifty-two million years ago. Some people believe that the Miacids are the most likely ancestors of the Canidae, though no one is certain.
It is thought that Grey Wolves would have originated in Asia and most likely took up residence in North America around 700,000 years ago, after crossing the land that was still joined together during this period. Wolves from that period have undergone a series of rapid evolutionary changes to become the Wolf we know and love today.
Similar species to the Grey Wolf.
While at RoW we only allow the subspecies of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) to be played, scientists have found that there are other species of wolf that are genetically distinct from the Grey Wolf, such as the Himalayan wolf (Canis himalayensis). However, also classed under the Canis genus are species such as the Coyote (Canis latrans) and the Simien jackal (Canis simensis) which, while having similar characteristics to the wolf, are genetically and phenotypically different, such as being much smaller.