The Searching Wolf



The Gray Wolf Course

5. Classification & Evolution

  1. Classification of wolves
    1. Gray wolf, Canis lupus
    2. Red wolf, Canis rufus
    3. Ethiopian wolf, Canis simensis
  2. Evolution of wolves
    1. Mammals
      1. Appearance of the mammal-like reptiles
      2. Evolution of the mammals from the mammal-like reptiles
      3. Radiation into ecological niches vacated by the dinosaurs
    2. Carnivores
      1. Cimolestes, a basal carnivore group
      2. Creodontia, the first carnivore order
      3. Carnivora, the second and more recent carnivore order
        1. Evolutionary trends of the carnivores
        2. Miacidae, the basal family of carnivores
        3. Caniformia and Feliformia, the two main branches of carnivores
    3. Canids
      1. Evolutionary trends of the canids
      2. Canid radiations
        1. Hesperocyon and the hesperocyonine radiation
        2. Tomarctus and the borophagine radiation
        3. Leptocyon and the canine radiation
      3. Canine migrations
      4. Evolution of specific wolves
        1. Gray wolf, Canis lupus
        2. Dire wolf, Canis dirus
        3. Red wolf, Canis rufus

Resources

Articles and Reports

Hunt, R.M., Jr. 1996. Biogeography of the order carnivora. Pages 485-541 In J.L. Gittleman, Editor. Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution, Vol. 2. Cornell University Press: Ithaca.

Martin, L.D. 1989. Fossil history of the terrestrial carnivora. Pages 536-568 In J.L. Gittleman, Editor. Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution, Vol. 1. Cornell University Press: Ithaca.

Matthews, W.D. 1930. The phylogeny of dogs. Journal of Mammalogy 11:117-138.

Nowak, R. 1992. Wolves: The great travelers of evolution. International Wolf 2(4):3 - 7.

Paradiso, J.L. and R.M. Nowak. 1982. Wolves. Pages 460-474 In J.A. Chapman and G.A. Feldhamer, Editors. Wild Mammals of North America. The Johns Hopkins University Press: Baltimore.

Prothero, D.R. 1994. Mammalian evolution. Pages 238-270 In R.S. Spencer, Editor. Major Features of Vertebrate Evolution. Short Courses in Paleontology, Number 7, convened by D.R. Prothero and R.M. Schoch, A publication of The Paleontological Society. UTK Publication: Knoxville.

Reich, D.E., R.K. Wayne, and D.B. Goldstein. 1999. Genetic evidence for a recent origin by hybridization of red wolves. Molecular Ecology 8:139-144.

Tedford, R.H. 1978. History of dogs and cats: A view from the fossil record. Pages 1-10 In Nutrition and Management of Dogs and Cats. Ralston Purina, Co.: St. Louis.

Wilson, P.J., S. Grewal, I.D. Lawford, J.N.M. Heal, A.G. Granacki, D. Pennock, J.B. Theberge, M.T. Theberge, D.R. Voigt, W. Waddell, R.E.Chambers, P.C. Paquet, G. Goulet, D. Cluff, and B.N. White. 2000. DNA profiles of the eastern Canadian wolf and the red wolf provide evidence for a common evolutionary history independent of the gray wolf. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78:2156-2166.

Books, Monographs, and Proceedings

Nowak, R. 1979. North American Quaternary Canis. Monograph of the Museum of Natural History, University of Kansas 6:1-154.

Olsen, S.J. 1985. The Origins of the Domestic Dog: The Fossil Record. The University of Arizona Press: Tucson.

Romer, A.S. and T.S. Parsons. 1985. The Vertebrate Body. Sanders College Publishing: Philadelphia.

Vaughan, T.A. 1985. Mammalogy. Saunders College Publishing: Fort Worth.

Wilson, D.E. and D.M. Reeder, Editors. 1992. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. Smithsonian Institution Press: Washington.

Videos

Wang, X. (American Museum of Natural History). 1998. 60 minutes. Early Canid Evolution. Seminar series of the Biology Department of Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Indiana, PA.