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.
The Arctic wolf, also known as the white wolf, polar wolf, and the Arctic grey wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to the High Arctic tundra of Canada's Queen Elizabeth Islands, from Melville Island to Ellesmere Island. Unlike some populations that move between tundra and forest regions, Arctic wolves spend their entire lives north of the northern treeline. Their distribution to south is limited to the northern fringes of the Middle Arctic tundra on the southern half of Prince of Wales and Somerset Islands. It is a medium-sized subspecies, distinguished from the northwestern wolf by its smaller size, its whiter colouration, its narrower braincase, and larger carnassials. Since 1930, there has been a progressive reduction in size in Arctic wolf skulls, which is likely the result of wolf-dog hybridization.
The Hokkaido wolf, also known as the Ezo wolf and in Russia as the Sakhalin wolf, is an extinct subspecies of gray wolf that once inhabited coastal northeast Asia. Its nearest relatives were the wolves of North America rather than Asia. It was exterminated in Hokkaido during the Meiji Restoration period, when American-style agricultural reforms incorporated the use of strychnine-laced baits to kill livestock predators. Some taxonomists believe that it survived up until 1945 on the island of Sakhalin. It was one of two subspecies that were once found in the Japanese archipelago, the other being the Japanese wolf.
The tundra wolf, also known as the Turukhan wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Eurasia's tundra and forest-tundra zones from Finland to the Kamchatka Peninsula. It was first described in 1792 by Robert Kerr, who described it as living around the Yenisei, and of having a highly valued pelt.
The northwestern wolf, also known as the Mackenzie Valley wolf, Alaskan timber wolf, or Canadian timber wolf, is a subspecies of gray wolf in western North America. Arguably the largest gray wolf subspecies in the world, it ranges from Alaska, the upper Mackenzie River Valley; southward throughout the western Canadian provinces, aside from prairie landscapes in its southern portions, as well as the Northwestern United States.
The Arabian wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf native to the Arabian Peninsula—to the west of Bahrain, as well as Oman, southern Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. They are also found in Israel’s Negev Desert, Jordan, Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula. It is the smallest wolf subspecies, and a specialized xerocole (arid-adapted) animal that normally lives in smaller familial packs. Arabian wolves are omnivorous and opportunistic eaters; they consume small to medium-sized prey, from insects, reptiles and birds to rodents and small ungulates, such as young ibex and several species of gazelle.
The Indian wolf is a subspecies of gray 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 gray wolf, and has a reputation for being cunning. The Indian wolf is one of the most endangered populations of gray 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 and Mongolian wolf, and has an association with the African 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 mountains of Central Asia predominantly above 4,000 m (13,000 ft) in elevation because it has adapted to a low-oxygen environment, compared with other wolves that are found only at lower elevations.
The Kenai Peninsula wolf, also known as the Kenai Peninsula grey wolf, is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that lived on the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska.
Bernard's wolf, also known as the Banks Island wolf or the Banks Island tundra wolf, is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that was limited to Banks and Victoria Island of the Arctic Archipelago.
The British Columbia wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf which lives in a narrow region that includes those parts of the mainland coast and near-shore islands that are covered with temperate rainforest, which extends from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, to the Alexander Archipelago in south-east Alaska. This area is bounded by the Coast Mountains.
The Cascade mountain wolf is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that was once found in the Pacific Northwest, but became extinct in 1940.
Gregory's wolf, also known as the Mississippi Valley wolf, was a subspecies of the red wolf. It was declared extinct in 1980. It once roamed the regions in and around the lower Mississippi River basin.
The Hudson Bay wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf native to the northern Kivalliq Region, including the northwestern coast of Hudson Bay in Canada. It was first classed as a distinct subspecies in 1941 by Edward Goldman, who described it as being a white colored, medium-sized subspecies similar to C. l. arctos, but with a flatter skull. This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005).
The Mackenzie River wolf or Mackenzie Arctic Wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf which is found in Canada's southern portion of Northwest Territories. Not much has been published on Canis lupus mackenzii but one of the most comprehensive studies was done in 1954 by W.A. Fuller, Wolf Control Operations, Southern Mackenzie District, Canada Wildlife Service Report. This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005).
The Mogollon mountain wolf is an extinct subspecies of gray wolf whose range once included Arizona and New Mexico. It is darker than its more northern cousins, and has a highly arched frontal bone.
The Greenland wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf that is native to Greenland. Historically, it was heavily persecuted, but today it is fully protected and about 90% of the wolf's range falls within the boundaries of the Northeast Greenland National Park.
The Alaskan tundra wolf, also known as the barren-ground wolf, is a North American subspecies of gray wolf native to the barren grounds of the Arctic coastal tundra region. It was named in 1912 by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr., who noted that it closely approaches the Great Plains wolf in skull and tooth morphology, though possessing a narrower rostrum and palate. It is a large, white-colored wolf closely resembling C. l. pambasileus, though lighter in color. This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005).
The southern Rocky Mountain wolf is an extinct subspecies of gray wolf which was once distributed over southeastern Idaho, southwestern Wyoming, northeastern Nevada, Utah, western and central Colorado, northwestern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico. It was a light-colored, medium-sized subspecies closely resembling the Great Plains wolf, though larger, with more blackish-buff hairs on the back. This wolf went extinct by 1935. Wolves of the subspecies Canis lupus occidentalis have now been reestablished in Idaho and Wyoming.
The Austro-Hungarian wolf, also called the reed wolf, is a proposed subspecies of the gray wolf that is thought to have once inhabited Hungary and eastern Austria. Its subspecies status is uncertain, as there are few records and no uncontroversial remains. It was once also proposed as being a golden jackal, although a status as a diminutive form of the gray wolf is more commonly accepted. It is generally assumed to have gone extinct before 1900.
