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Dire wolf facts for kids

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Dire wolf
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene – early Holocene (125,000–9,000 years ago)
Canis dirus Sternberg Museum.jpg
Mounted skeleton, Sternberg Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Genus:
Canis
Species:
dirus
Subspecies
  • Canis dirus dirus Kurten 1984
  • Canis dirus guildayi Kurten 1984
Synonyms
  • Canis primaevus Leidy (1854)
  • Canis indianensis Leidy (1869)
  • Canis mississippiensis Allen (1876)
  • Canis ayersi Sellards (1916)
  • Aenocyon dirus Merriam (1918)
  • Aenocyon dirus nebrascensis Frick (1930) (nomen nudum)

The dire wolf (Canis dirus, "fearsome dog") is an extinct 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.

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.

  • For the younger readers - Dire Wolf by Marc Zabludoff, Marshall Cavendish, 2009

Images for kids

  • Dire Wolf Skulls La Brea 2005-08-01

    Display at the Page Museum of 404 dire wolf skulls found in the La Brea Tar Pits

  • C. dirus wiki

    Size comparison with a human

  • Aenocyon dirus restoration & skeleton

    Restoration with skeletal mount

  • Canis lupus & Aenocyon dirus

    Gray wolf skeleton (left) compared with a dire wolf skeleton

  • Canis dirus

    Restoration of a pack in Rancho La Brea by Charles R. Knight, 1922

  • Smilodon and Canis dirus

    Two dire wolves and a saber-toothed cat (Smilodon) with the carcass of a Columbian mammoth at the La Brea tar pits by R. Bruce Horsfall

  • Wolf cranium labelled

    Key features of a wolf skull and dentition

  • Canis dirus skull

    Skull of the dire wolf

  • Dire Wolf Skeleton

    Skeleton from the La Brea Tar Pits mounted in running pose. Note the baculum between the rear legs.

  • Canis dirus skull and neck

    Dire wolf skull and neck

  • Annual report of the American Museum of Natural History for the year (1913) (18246516009)

    Mounted skeletons of Smilodon and dire wolf near ground sloth bones

  • Canis dirus findings USA

    Map of contiguous US states shaded gray where dire wolf remains have been found

  • The American Museum journal (c1900-(1918)) (17974394119)

    Restoration of a dire wolf by an asphalt pool, by E. S. Christman, 1913

See also

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