Extinct type of wolf that lived during the Ice Age in Alaska, Yukon, and northern British Columbia
Beringian wolf
Temporal range: Late Pleistocene – early Holocene (50,000–7,600 YBP)
Two models of Beringian wolves created by paleo-artists working at the Yukon Beringia Interpretive Centre
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Canidae
Genus:
Canis
Species:
C. lupus
Population:
†Beringian wolf
Animated map showing Beringia sea levels measured in meters from 21,000 years ago to present. Beringia once spanned the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea, joining Eurasia to North America.
The Beringian wolf is an extinct population of wolf (Canis lupus) that lived during the Ice Age. It inhabited what is now modern-day Alaska, Yukon, and northern British Columbia. Some of these wolves survived well into the Holocene. The Beringian wolf is an ecomorph of the gray wolf and has been comprehensively studied using a range of scientific techniques, yielding new information on their prey species and feeding behaviors. It has been determined that these wolves are morphologically distinct from modern North American wolves and genetically basal to most modern and extinct wolves. The Beringian wolf has not been assigned a subspecies classification and its relationship with the extinct European cave wolf (Canis lupus spelaeus) is not clear.
The Beringian wolf was similar in size to the modern Alaskan Interior wolf (Canis lupus pambasileus) and other Late Pleistocene gray wolves but more robust and with stronger jaws and teeth, a broader palate, and larger carnassial teeth relative to its skull size. In comparison with the Beringian wolf, the more southerly occurring dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) was the same size but heavier and with a more robust skull and dentition. The unique adaptation of the skull and dentition of the Beringian wolf allowed it to produce relatively large bite forces, grapple with large struggling prey, and therefore made predation and scavenging on Pleistocene megafauna possible. The Beringian wolf preyed most often on horse and steppe bison, and also on caribou, mammoth, and woodland muskox.
At the close of the Ice Age, with the loss of cold and dry conditions and the extinction of much of its prey, the Beringian wolf became extinct. The extinction of its prey has been attributed to the impact of climate change, competition with other species, including humans, or a combination of both factors. Local genetic populations were replaced by others from within the same species or of the same genus. Of the North American wolves, only the ancestor of the modern North American gray wolf survived. The remains of ancient wolves with similar skulls and dentition have been found in western Beringia (northeastern Siberia). In 2016, a study showed that some of the wolves now living in remote corners of China and Mongolia share a common maternal ancestor with one 28,000-year-old eastern Beringian wolf specimen.
The Beringianwolf is an extinct population of wolf (Canis lupus) that lived during the Ice Age. It inhabited what is now modern-day Alaska, Yukon, and...
first gray wolves to enter North America after the extinction of the Beringianwolf, as indicated by its southern range and basal physical and genetic characteristics...
study found the Beringianwolf to be basal to all other grey wolves except for the extant Indian grey wolf and the extant Himalayan wolf. The Pleistocene...
of North American wolf-like canines indicates that the extinct Late Pleistocene Beringianwolf was the ancestor of the southern wolf clade, which includes...
Eastern wolf can be found only in the Mexican wolf. The authors propose that Pleistocene coyote and Beringianwolf admixture led to the Eastern wolf long...
Both the dire wolf and the Beringianwolf went extinct in North America, leaving only the less carnivorous and more gracile form of the wolf to thrive, which...
only the Beringianwolf existed. The land bridge became inundated by the sea 10,000 YBP, the sheets receded 12,000–6,000 YBP, the Beringianwolf went extinct...
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extinct Beringianwolf was the ancestor of the southern wolf clade, which includes the Mexican wolf and the Great Plains wolf. The Mexican wolf is the...
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more likely from a wolf. Belgium 26,000 YBP has been found to be uniquely large but was found not to be related to the Beringianwolf. This Belgium canid...
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detected haplotypes matched ancient Beringian wolves, ancient wolves from northern Europe, some modern European and Chinese wolf populations, and are closely...
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branches led to the borophagine and canine radiations. Around 8 Mya, the Beringian land bridge allowed members of the genus Eucyon a means to enter Asia...
The stoat (Mustela erminea), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions...
respective Siberian and North American portions of Beringia has led to the 'Beringian Gap' hypothesis, wherein an unconfirmed geographic factor blocked migration...
2% found in the Northern Rocky Mountain wolf (Canis lupus irremotus) up to a maximum of 11% found in Beringian wolves. The distribution of fractures across...
smaller than its close relative, the gray wolf, and slightly smaller than the closely related eastern wolf and red wolf. It fills much of the same ecological...
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was restricted to Beringia during the Pleistocene. For this reason, the Beringian population is considered a distinct subspecies, P. s. vereshchagini. Lion-like...
to the Americas remain unclear. The traditional theory is that Ancient Beringians moved when sea levels were significantly lowered due to the Quaternary...
support to the "Beringian standstill" hypothesis — that the ancestors of Native Americans spent considerable time isolated in a Beringian refuge during...
study has identified the remains of a population of extinct Pleistocene Beringian wolves with unique mitochondrial signatures. The skull shape, tooth wear...
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