There are 38 subspecies of Canis lupus listed in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World. These subspecies were named over the past 250 years, and since their naming, a number of them have gone extinct. The nominate subspecies is the Eurasian wolf.
Jackals are medium-sized omnivorous mammals of the subtribe Canina, which also includes wolves and the domestic dog, among other species. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many small canines, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed jackal and side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan-Africa, and the golden jackal of south-central Europe and Asia.
The red wolf is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote and gray wolf.
The culpeo, sometimes known as the zorro culpeo, Andean zorro, Andean fox, Paramo wolf, Andean wolf, and colpeo fox, is a species of South American fox. Regardless of the name, it is not a true fox, but more closely related to wolves and jackals. Its appearance resembles that of foxes due to convergent evolution.
The maned wolf is a large canine of South America. Its markings resemble those of foxes, but it is neither a fox nor a wolf. It is the only species in the genus Chrysocyon.
Canis is a genus of the Caninae which includes multiple extant species, such as wolves, dogs, coyotes, and golden jackals. Species of this genus are distinguished by their moderate to large size, their massive, well-developed skulls and dentition, long legs, and comparatively short ears and tails.
A wolfdog is a canine produced by the mating of a dog with a gray wolf, eastern wolf, red wolf, or Ethiopian wolf to produce a hybrid.
Claudio Sillero-Zubiri was born in Argentina and is a British zoologist. He is a Professor of Conservation Biology at Oxford University's WildCRU, the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, and Bill Travers Fellow at Lady Margaret Hall. He is the Chair of the IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group, and Chief Scientist of the Born Free Foundation. He is internationally recognized for his work with carnivore conservation, and in particular the endangered Ethiopian wolf.
The Ethiopian wolf, also known as the Simien jackal or Simien fox, is a canine native to the Ethiopian Highlands. In southeastern Ethiopia it is also known as the horse jackal. It is similar to the coyote in size and build, and is distinguished by its long and narrow skull, and its red and white fur. Unlike most large canids, which are widespread, generalist feeders, the Ethiopian wolf is a highly specialised feeder of Afroalpine rodents with very specific habitat requirements. It is one of the world's rarest canids, and Africa's most endangered carnivore.
The black-backed jackal is a medium-sized canine native to eastern and southern Africa. These regions are separated by roughly 900 kilometers.
The golden jackal is a wolf-like canid that is native to Eastern Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. Compared with the Arabian wolf, which is the smallest gray wolf subspecies, the jackal is smaller and possesses shorter legs, a shorter tail, a more elongated torso, a less-prominent forehead, and a narrower and more pointed muzzle. The golden jackal's coat can vary in color from a pale creamy yellow in summer to a dark tawny beige in winter. It is listed as 'least concern' on the IUCN Red List due to its widespread distribution and high density in areas with plenty of available food and optimum shelter.
Blanford's fox is a small fox native to the Middle East and Central Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Pack is a social group of conspecific canines. Not all species of canids form packs; for example, small canids like the red fox do not. Pack size and social behaviour within packs varies across species.
Canid hybrids are the result of interbreeding between the species of the genus Canis. This often occurs in the wild, and in particular between domestic or feral dogs with wild native canids.
The Indian wolf is a subspecies of grey wolf that ranges from Southwest Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. It is intermediate in size between the Himalayan wolf and the Arabian wolf, and lacks the former's luxuriant winter coat due to it living in warmer conditions. Within this subspecies, the "Indian plains wolf" is genetically basal to all other extant Canis lupus apart from the older-lineage Himalayan wolf, with both proposed as separate species. The Indian wolf travels in smaller packs and is less vocal than other variants of the grey wolf, and has a reputation for being cunning. The Indian wolf is one of the most endangered populations of grey wolf in the world.
The Himalayan wolf is a canine of debated taxonomy. It is distinguished by its genetic markers, with mitochondrial DNA indicating that it is genetically basal to the Holarctic grey wolf, genetically the same wolf as the Tibetan wolf, and has an association with the African golden wolf. No striking morphological differences are seen between the wolves from the Himalayas and those from Tibet. The Himalayan wolf lineage can be found living in Ladakh in the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau, and the Central Asian highlands predominantly above 4,000 m in elevation because it has adapted to a low-oxygen environment, compared with other wolves that are found only at lower elevations.
The African wolf is a canine native to North Africa, West Africa, the Sahel, northern East Africa, and the Horn of Africa. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. In the Atlas Mountains, it was sighted in elevations as high as 1,800 m (5,900 ft). It is primarily a predator, targeting invertebrates and mammals as large as gazelle fawns, though larger animals are sometimes taken. Its diet also includes animal carcasses, human refuse, and fruit. The African wolf is a monogamous and territorial species; offspring remain with the family to assist in raising their parents' younger pups.
The evolution of the wolf occurred over a geologic time scale of at least 300 thousand years. The grey wolf Canis lupus is a highly adaptable species that is able to exist in a range of environments and which possesses a wide distribution across the Holarctic. Studies of modern grey wolves have identified distinct sub-populations that live in close proximity to each other. This variation in sub-populations is closely linked to differences in habitat – precipitation, temperature, vegetation, and prey specialization – which affect cranio-dental plasticity.
Lupulella is a genus of canine found in Africa. This genus consists of only two extant species, the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal.