european and north american wolf species: Taxonomic Nomenclature with pictures

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Chart of taxonomic nomenclature of wolf species and subspecies with pictures and links to more information for each group. Learn about the remaining wolf species and subspecies, and which wolves are now extinct. This megasite also includes wolf legends, news about reintroduced wolf packs, and information about other north american wildlife and pets. Buy wolf pictures, fine art prints, posters, t-shirts and other wolf gifts.

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WOLF
Taxonomic Nomenclature
(with wolf species pictures)
Learn about wolf species & subspecies, & extinct wolves.
european and north american wolves of the world

timber wolf (canis lupus lycaon) || arctic wolf (canis lupus arctos) || red wolf (canis rufus)
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Wolves of the World

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Taxonomic Nomenclature*
*1992 revision of classification

TRUE WOLVES:

Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)

Phylum: Chordata (Animals with notochords)

Subphylum: Vertebrata (Animals with backbones)

Class: Mammalia (Chordates that produce milk via mammary glands)

Subclass: Eutheria (Placental Mammals)

Order: Carnivora (Mammals that eat meat)

Suborder: Caniforma (Dog-like carnivores)

Family: Canidae (Dogs, foxes, jackals, dholes, etc.)

Genus: Canis (Dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals)

Species: lupus (GRAY WOLVES)

NORTH AMERICAN GRAY WOLVES

Subspecies: occidentalis
Contains most of the Alaskan and western Canadian species. Includes:

Canis lupus alces (Kenai Peninsula Wolf-EXTINCT)
Canis lupus columbianus (British Columbian Wolf-ENDANGERED)
Canis lupus griseoalbus (Manitoba Wolf-PRESUMED EXTINCT?)
Canis lupus makenzii (Mackenzie Tundra Wolf-ENDANGERED)
Canis lupus occidentalis (Mackenzie Valley Wolf)
Canis lupus pambasileus (Interior Alaskan Wolf)
Canis lupus tundrarum (Alaska Tundra Wolf)

Subspecies: nubilus
Contains most of the SE Alaskan, central and northeastern Canadian and western U.S. species. Includes:

Canis lupus beothucus (Newfoundland Wolf-EXTINCT)

Canis lupus crassodon (Vancouver Island Wolf-ENDANGERED)

Canis lupus fuscus (Cascade Mountains Wolf-EXTINCT)

Canis lupus hudsonicus (Hudson Bay Wolf-ENDANGERED)

Canis lupus irremotus (Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf-EXTINCT)

Canis lupus labradorius (Labrador Wolf-ENDANGERED)

Canis lupus ligoni (Alexander Archipelago Wolf)

Canis lupus lycaon [of Minnesota] (Eastern Timber Wolf-Federal Status: ENDANGERED, Wisconsin status: Threatened)

Canis lupus manningi (Baffin Island Tundra Wolf-ENDANGERED)

Canis lupus nubilus (Great Plains Wolf/ Buffalo Wolf-EXTINCT*)

Canis lupus youngi (Southern Rocky Mountain Wolf-EXTINCT)

Subspecies: lycaon
Contains the southeastern Canadian and northeastern US subspecies. Includes:

Canis lupus lycaon [except for the Minnesota lycaons] (Eastern Timber Wolf-Federal Status: ENDANGERED, Wisconsin status: Threatened)

Subspecies: arctos
Contains the Arctic islands and Greenland species. Includes:

Canis lupus arctos (Melville Island Wolf , Arctic Wolf-ENDANGERED)
Canis lupus bernardi (Banks Island Tundra Wolf-EXTINCT)
Canis lupus orion (Greenland Wolf)

Subspecies: baileyi
Contains the species from Mexico and the extreme southwestern U.S. Includes:

Canis lupus baileyi (Mexican Wolf-ENDANGERED)
Canis lupus mogollonensis (Mogollon Mountain Wolf-EXTINCT)
Canis lupus monstrabilis (Texas Gray Wolf-EXTINCT)

EURASIAN GRAY WOLVES

Subspecies: albus
Occurs throughout the Eurasian tundra and forest-tundra from Finland eastward to the Kamchaika Peninsula. Includes:

Canis lupus albus (White Tundra Wolf)

Subspecies: arabs
Occurs in Southern Arabia. Includes:

Canis lupus arabs (Arabian Wolf-ENDANGERED)

Subspecies: campestris
Occurs in deserts and steppes of Central Asia.Includes:

Canis lupus campestris (Steppe Wolf)

Subspecies: chanco
Centralchina, Southwest-Russia, Manschurai,Tibet. Includes:

Canis lupus chanco (Mongolian Wolf)-*see Canis lupus laniger*-

Subspecies: communis
The wolf of Central Russia . Includes:

Canis lupus communis (Russian Wolf)

Subspecies: cubanensis
Range??? Includes:

Canis lupus cubanensis (Caspian Sea Wolf)

Subspecies: deitanus
Range??? Includes:

Canis lupus deitanus (Spanish Wolf-EXTINCT)

Subspecies: desertorum
Range??? Includes:

Canis lupus desertorum (Asian Desert Wolf)-*also known as Canis lupus palies*-

Subspecies: hattai
Once roamed the area of Hokkaido, Japan. Includes:

Canis lupus hattai (Hokkaido Japanese Wolf-*also known as Canis lupus rex*- -EXTINCT)

Subspecies: hodophilax
Once occurred in Hondo, Japan. Includes:

Canis lupus hodophilax (Hondo Japanese Wolf-EXTINCT)

Subspecies: italicus
Inhabits the Italian Peninsula. Includes:

Canis lupus italicus (Italian Wolf)

Subspecies: laniger
Inhabits mainland China, Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet, and southwestern Russia.-*see Canis lupus chanco*- Includes:

Canis lupus laniger (Tibetan Wolf)

Subspecies: lupus
Once occurred throughout Europe and the entire forest of Russia. . Includes:

Canis lupus lupus (Common Wolf-ENDANGERED)

Subspecies: lupaster
Thought by some to inhabit Egypt and Libya. Includes:

Canis lupus lupaster (Egyptian Wolf, Libya Wolf)

Subspecies: minor
Range??? Includes:

Canis lupus minor (Austro-Hungarian Wolf)

Subspecies: pallipes
Inhabits Iran and India and the lands in between these two countries. Includes:

Canis lupus pallipes (Indian, Iranian, Asiatic Wolf,Middle Eastern Wolf-ENDANGERED)

Subspecies: signatus
Occurs in northern Spain. Includes:

Canis lupus signatus (Iberian Wolf-CRITICALLY ENDANGERED)

NORTH AMERICAN RED WOLVES

Species: rufus (RED WOLF-CRITICALLY ENDANGERED - NEAR EXTINCTION: Presumed extinct in the wild except 70-80 animals in reintroduced experimental populations. Another 200-230 are in captive breeding programs.)

Subspecies: Canis Rufus Rufus(Red Wolf-CRITICALLY ENDANGERED)
South East of USA from Texas to Florida & up to North Carolina

Subspecies: Canis Rufus Gregoryi (Swamp Wolf, Mississippi Valley Red Wolf)
South East of USA from Texas to Florida & up to North Carolina

Subspecies: Canis rufus floridianus (Florida Red Wolf-EXTINCT)
Florida

ETHIOPIAN WOLVES

Species: simensis (ETHIOPIAN WOLF-CRITICALLY ENDANGERED - NEAR EXTINCTION: Approximately 340 - 520 ethiopian wolves are left in the entire world. Only found in specialized habitat called the Afro-alpine, in the mountains of Ethiopia at an elevation of 3,000 - 4,377 m.)

Subspecies: simensis
Occurs north of the Rift Valley. Includes:

Canis simensis simensis (Ethiopian Wolf-CRITICALLY ENDANGERED)

Subspecies: citernii
Occurs southeast of the Rift Valley. Includes:

Canis simensis citernii (Ethiopian Wolf-CRITICALLY ENDANGERED)

DIRE WOLF

Species: dirus (DIRE WOLF-EXTINCT)

NOT TRUE WOLVES:

Family: Canidae (Dogs, foxes, jackals, etc.)

Genus: Chrysocyon (Maned Wolf is the only species)

Species: Chrysocyon brachyurus (MANED WOLVES)

Subclass: Theria

Infraclass: Metatheria (Changing Mammals)

Order: Marsupialia (Pouched mammals-kangaroo, opposum, koala, bandicoot, etc)

Suborder: Dasyuromorphia (Dasyuroid Marsupials, Marsupial Carnivores)

Family: Thylacinidae

Genus: Thylacinus (dog-headed)

Species: Cynocephalus [pouched-dog] (TASMANIAN WOLF-EXTINCT)

NORTH AMERICAN GRAY WOLVES
Picture	Common Names	Scientific Name	Quick Wolf Facts
	Kenai Peninsula Wolf	Canis lupus alces	One of the largest of North American wolves, reported extinct in 1925
	British Columbian Wolf	Canis lupus columbianus	A large wolf found in the Yukon, British Columbia, and Alberta.
No Picture Available	Manitoba Wolf Gray-White Wolf Elusive Wolf Saskatchewan timber wolf Grizzly Wolf	Canis lupus griseoalbus	A large wolf whose territory is northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, and Newfoundland. Named by Baird in 1858, there is controversy over whether or not this is actually a separate sub-species.
No Picture Available	Mackenzie Tundra Wolf	Canis lupus makenzii	The Northwest Territories wolf, not recognized as a subspecies until 1943.
	Mackenzie Valley Wolf Rocky Mountain Wolf	Canis lupus occidentalis	Large wolf from Alaska and the northern Rocky Mountains of Canada and the United States.
No Picture Available	Interior Alaskan Wolf	Canis lupus pambasileus	A dark colored wolf from Alaska and the Yukon.
	Alaska Tundra Wolf	Canis lupus tundrarum	The arctic tundra wolf; light in color.
No Picture Available	Newfoundland Wolf	Canis lupus beothucus	Reported as almost pure white, now extinct.
No Picture Available	Vancouver Island Wolf	Canis lupus crassodon	A medium-size, grayish wold found on Vancouver Island.
	Cascade Mountains Wolf	Canis lupus fuscus	A brownish-colored wolf from the Cascade Mountians; extinct by 1940.
No Picture Available	Hudson Bay Wolf	Canis lupus hudsonicus	A light-colored wolf found in northern Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.
	Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf	Canis lupus irremotus	A medium-sized, light-colored wolf from the Rocky Mountians
No Picture Available	Labrador Wolf	Canis lupus labradorius	The wolf of Labrador and northern Quebec.
	Alexander Archipelago Wolf	Canis lupus ligoni	A small, dark-colored wolf from the Alexander Archipelago in the arctic islands.
	Eastern Wolf Eastern Timber Wolf Algonquin Wolf C. l. lycaon inhabits the eastern portions of the US and southeastern parts of Canada.	Canis lupus lycaon Before the classification was revised in 1995, it was thought that this was the subspecies that inhabited Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin.	Scientists now think that C. l. nubilus inhabits these areas, and Canis lupus lycaon lives in SE Canada. Lycaon was the first subspecies to be recognized in North America (1775).
No Picture Available	Baffin Island Tundra Wolf	Canis lupus manningi	The smallest arctic wolf, found on Baffin Island. It's either white or light-colored. Was recognized as a subspecies in 1943.
	Great Plains Wolf Buffalo Wolf	Canis lupus nubilus	It was previously thought to be extinct by 1926, but studies indicate that the wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Upper Michigan are Canis lupus nubilus. It's usually light in color.
No Picture Available	Southern Rocky Mountain Wolf	Canis lupus youngi	The Southern Rocky Mountian wolf was a light buff color. It has been extinct since 1935.
	Melville Island Wolf Arctic Wolf Artic Wolf (misspelling) White Wolf	Canis lupus arctos	White wolf of the high arctic, (above 67� north latitude)found from Melville Island to Ellesmere Island. The predominant color phase of this subspecies is a creamy white.
No Picture Available	Banks Island Tundra Wolf	Canis lupus bernardi	Limited to Banks and Victoria Islands in the arctic, described as white and black-tiped hair along the spinal ridge; not recognized as a subspecies until 1943; extinct sometime between 1918 and 1952.
No Picture Available	Greenland Wolf	Canis lupus orion	A white or very light-colored wolf from Greenland.
	Mexican Wolf Lobo More Information	Canis lupus baileyi (Most endangered wolf subspecies)	Smallest north american gray wolf. Range originally extended from northern Mexico into the mountainous parts of Arizona, New Mexico & Texas. Many authorities consider it indistinguishable from canis lupus mogollonensis and canis lupus monstrabilis.
No Picture Available	Mogollon Mountain Wolf	Canis lupus mogollonensis	A medium-sized wolf that was found in Arizona and New Mexico - extinct by 1935.
No Picture Available	Texas Gray Wolf	Canis lupus monstrabilis	A wolf that used to be found in Texas and New Mexico - extinct by 1942.
EURASIAN GRAY WOLVES
	White Tundra Wolf Russian Tundra Wolf Eurasian Tundra Wolf	Canis lupus albus	Large wolf from Northern Russia. Most tundra wolves have a gray color, with mixes of black, rust and silver gray. Although they were eliminated from some of the Arctic islands north of Siberia, they have been recently seen on Wrangle Island.
	Arabian Wolf	Canis lupus arabs	Often considered to be the same subspecies as the Indian wolf (C.l. pallipes). This wolf lives in Israel and Egypt, in some of the most arid habitat in the world.
No Picture Available	Steppe Wolf	Canis lupus campestris	Some Facts
No Picture Available	Mongolian Wolf	Canis lupus chanco Canis lupus laniger	Some Facts
No Picture Available	Russian Wolf	Canis lupus communis	One of the largest wolves, inhabits Central Russia.
No Picture Available	Caspian Sea Wolf	Canis lupus cubanensis	Inhabits the lands between the Caspian and Black seas.
No Picture Available	Spanish Wolf	Canis lupus deitanus	Some Facts
No Picture Available	Asian Desert Wolf	Canis lupus desertorum Canis lupus palies	Some Facts
No Picture Available	Hokkaido Japanese Wolf	Canis lupus hattai Canis lupus rex	Some Facts
No Picture Available	Hondo Japanese Wolf	Canis lupus hodophilax	Some Facts
No Picture Available	Italian Wolf	Canis lupus italicus	Inhabits the Italian Peninsula, and was the subject of Nowak and Fedroff's systematic study in 2002.
No Picture Available	Tibetan Wolf	Canis lupus laniger Canis lupus chanco	Some Facts
	Common Wolf Eurasian Wolf	Canis lupus lupus	Inhabits Europe and portions of Asia. Nowak's studies have combined 3 subspecies (C.l. desertorum, C.l. campestris, C.l. chanco) with C.l. lupus, increasing the size of its range
No Picture Available	Egyptian Wolf Libya Wolf	Canis lupus lupaster	Thought by some to inhabit Egypt and Libya.
No Picture Available	Austro-Hungarian Wolf	Canis lupus minor	Some Facts
	Indian Wolf, Iranian Wolf, Asiatic Wolf, Middle Eastern Wolf	Canis lupus pallipes	Found in the Mideast and SW Asia. The Indian wolf is one of the smallest subspecies of wolves, although they can be larger in the subspecies' northern range.
	Iberian Wolf	Canis lupus signatus	Some Facts
NORTH AMERICAN RED WOLVES
	Red Wolf Scientists are in disagreement over the origins of the red wolf.	Canis Rufus Rufus Some insist it is a genetically distinct species; some assert that it is a subspecies of gray wolf; others theorize that it is a hybrid of gray wolves and coyotes.	A reclusive animal that weighs between 40 and 80 pounds, the red wolf is generally a night hunter and travels in groups of two or three... More Red Wolf Facts
No Picture Available	Swamp Wolf, Mississippi Valley Red Wolf	Canis Rufus Gregoryi	Once inhabited southwestern Indiana, southern Missouri, and eastern Oklahoma to southern Mississippi, central Louisiana, and the Big Thicket area of Texas. Now believed extinct in the wild, but may be represented in captivity or the reintroduced population in North Carolina.
No Picture Available	Florida Red Wolf	Canis rufus floridianus	Inhabited areas of Maine and Ohio to Florida and Alabama, now extinct.
ETHIOPIAN WOLVES
	Ethiopian Wolf	Canis simensis simensis	Some Facts
	Ethiopian Wolf	Canis simensis citernii	Some Facts
DIRE WOLF
No Picture Available	Dire Wolf	Canis dirus	Believed to be a decedent of Canis lupus which migrated to North America about 750,000 years ago. Larger and heavier than C. lupus, the two species seem to have coexisted for about 400,000 years. The Dire Wolf became extinct about 7,000 years ago.