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The dire wolf was about the same size as the largest modern gray wolves (Canis lupus): the Yukon wolf and the northwestern wolf. A. d. guildayi weighed on average 60 kilograms (132 lb) and A. d. dirus was on average 68 kg (150 lb).
The extinct dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) reached 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length and weighed between 50 and 110 kg (110 and 243 lb). [42] [172] The largest wolf (Canis lupus) subspecies ever existed in Europe is the Canis lupus maximus from the Late Pleistocene of France.
Epicyon had a massive head and powerful jaws that were well adapted for bone-crushing, with enlarged fourth premolars like some hyenas, giving its skull a lion-like shape rather than having a skull similar in shape to that of a wolf; the adaptation would have allowed Epicyon to scavenge as well as hunt, giving it access to the nutritious marrow other contemporary carnivores couldn't access.
The dire wolf shared its habitat with the gray wolf, but became extinct in a large-scale extinction event that occurred around 11,500 years ago. It may have been more of a scavenger than a hunter; its molars appear to be adapted for crushing bones and it may have gone extinct as a result of the extinction of the large herbivorous animals on ...
[3]: 219 , modest in size compared to other canids including the dire wolf. However, despite its size, isotopic analysis shows a dietary overlap with Smilodon populator, which implies it might actively hunt much larger prey animals [4] since S. populator weighed at least 400kg.
The long-term isolation of the dire wolf lineage implies that other American fossil taxa, including C. armbrusteri and C. edwardii, may also belong to the dire wolf's lineage. [13] In the 2024 study, the Armbruster's wolf is considered as a species of Aenocyon , while C. edwardii is considered more closely related to the modern coyote .
Cave wolf (Canis lupus spelaeus) Dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) [42] Dholes. European dhole (Cuon alpinus europaeus) Sardinian dhole (Cynotherium sardous) Arctoidea. Various Ursus spp. Steppe brown bear (Ursus arctos "priscus") [43] Gamssulzen cave bear (Ursus ingressus) [44] Pleistocene small cave bear (Ursus rossicus) Cave bear (Ursus spelaeus)
In 2021, researchers sequenced the nuclear DNA (from the cell nucleus) of the dire wolf. The sequences indicate the dire wolf to be a highly divergent lineage which last shared a most recent common ancestor with the wolf-like canines 5.7 million years ago, with morphological similarity to the grey wolf being a result of convergent evolution.