Dire wolf

The dire wolf (Canis dirus, "fearsome dog") is an species of wolf in the genus Canis. It is one of the most famous prehistoric carnivores in North America. The dire wolf lived in the Americas during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs (125,000–9,440 years ago). The species was named in 1858, four years after the first specimen had been found.

In 2025, media said things about cloning this kind of wolf; However, an article on website ScientificAmerican.com said about the three wolves that were produced in 2024 and early 2025, that "many scientists say [... that those 3 wolves are not] the dire wolf. Rather, they say, it is a gray wolf whose genome has been edited to give it some [traits from dire wolves or] dire-wolf-like traits".https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-dire-wolf-isnt-back-but-heres-what-de-extinction-tech-can-actually-do/#:~:text=No%20ancient%20dire%20wolf%20genes,this%20case%2C%20largely%20its%20appearance.. Retrieved 2025-04-12

Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized. These subspecies are Canis dirus guildayi and Canis dirus dirus. The dire wolf probably evolved from Armbruster's wolf (Canis armbrusteri) in North America. 

The dire wolf was about the same size as the largest gray wolves alive now.

Diet
The dire wolf probably ate horses, ground sloths, mastodons, bison, and camels. The dire wolf was probably a pack hunter. This means that many dire wolves would hunt for prey together. Modern wolves are also pack hunters.

Extinction
The dire wolf became extinct during the Quaternary extinction event.

References

Other websites

 For the younger readers - Dire Wolf by Marc Zabludoff, Marshall Cavendish, 2009
 The Evansville Dire Wolf
 Information on the dire wolf from the Illinois State Museum

Category:Wolves