Species Name: Canis dirus, or Dire Wolf.

Discovery: In 1854, a fossilized bone fragment was discovered on the banks of the Ohio river in Indiana by Francis Lick. After his death a year later, the fossil was forwarded to Joseph Leidy in Philadelphia. Leidy determined that the fossil was a new species of wolf, and named the species Canis Primaevus, only to find that the name had already been taken. Instead he named it Canis Dirus, the Dire Wolf.

Species Age: Pliestocene Epoch (Ice Age) some 13,000 - 1 Million Years ago.

Extinction: The dire wolf became extinct some 10,000 or so years ago along with several other ice age mammals. This is likely because the large prey they favored were dying out, and unable to adapt to smaller prey and compete with the faster, more intelligent gray wolf and human huners, the dire wolf fell to extinction.

Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Genus: Canis Species: dirus

© Mark Hallet

Range: Fossils have been discovered all over North, Central, and South America, though the actual range and habitat of this animal is unknown.

Intelligence: Dire wolves had smaller brains than their gray wolf cousins, so it is believed that the dire wolf was not as intelligent at the gray wolf.

Diet: Carnivore. Preyed upon large American herbivores.

Hunting: Because of their shorter legs, smaller brains, and larger, bone crushing teeth, it is thought that the dire wolf was more of a scavenger than a hunter, much like the modern day hyena. They were not as fast as Canis lupus, and not as intelligent, and so were not able to make as many kills as their cousins (though they did hunt).

On the top here is a picture of a gray wolf skull. On the bottom, a dire wolf skull. You can see that there are a few differences in structure, such as the larger crest on the back of the dire wolf skull, and the larger dire wolf teeth.

Physical:

Av. Length (- tail): 5 feet. Av. Weight: 125 - 175 lbs. Av. Height @ shoulder: ? Top Running Speed: ? Age: 10 years? Av. Skull Length: ? Jaw Pressure: ?

© ?

Appearance:

© Goldenwolf

This is my own interpretation of what a dire wolf would look like standing next to his gray wolf cousin. Things you will want to notice about the dire wolf are it's shorter, stockier legs, larger, wider head, and shorter ears (guessing on the ears since there is no real way to know how large they were). The overall size is roughly the same since the dire wolf was, on average, the size of a large gray wolf.

Common Myths:

Dire wolves were massive - Actually, while they were a bit larger than the grey wolf, overall they were much the same size and mass, but perhaps a bit heavier and stockier. Their heads were the main difference as they were much more massive, wide, and thicker with muscle than an average gray wolf. No, they were not the size of small horses or bears.

Dire wolves have "snaggle" or saber fangs - While it's true that dire wolves have larger teeth than grey wolves, their teeth did NOT stick out or show from under their upper lips any more than a regular wolves fangs. Sadly, this is a trend I fear -I- have started, because I draw myself as a dire wolf with "snaggle" fangs. This is only a personal preference, and is only a spiritual symbol I attribute to myself, NOT an actual fact of dire wolf anatomy..

Dire wolves are fantasy/mythical creatures - As you can see by the fossil evidence, clearly dire wolves were very much real creatures at one time in Earth's history. It is roleplaying games that have caused this myth to occur, using the name "Dire Wolf" to describe huge, ferocious wolves in various games and novels. Dire wolves were very much real, were very much NOT what these games/fantasy describes, and are now extinct.

Dire wolves were much more vicious than modern wolves - Dire wolves were no more 'vicious' or aggressive than modern wolves. In fact, all carnivores are only 'vicious' when they are hunting or asserting their dominance/protecting their territory.

Dire wolves evolved from gray wolves, or gray wolves evolved from dire wolves - While dire wolves and gray wolves did evolve from a similiar ancestor, and are very close on the evolutionary ladder, neither the gray wolf nor the dire wolf evolved from one another. They are completely different species from the gray wolf, much like the coyote or jackal.