Extinct Wolf Remains Found in Alaska

Jennifer Viegas with Discovery News tells us about an article in Current Biology that describes a massive, monstrous wolf that roamed in Alaska until twelve thousand years ago. Imagine a wolf with teeth that shreds flesh easily, and cracks the bones of any animal it preys upon. It is possible that this wolf was so vicious because of the competition with other fierce predators in that era: saber tooth cats, bears, and lions.

This wolf looked very similar to the gray wolf of today, but with some minor differences. The head of the wolf that lived twelve thousand years ago would have been a little wider than the wolf we know today, while the snout would have been shorter. Although the current day wolf and the extinct wolf have a couple distinct differences, Blaire Van Valkenburgh, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the Los Angeles University of California, states that the wolf is still "clearly recognizable as Canis Lupus."

The physical differences are rather small. The largest and most distinctive difference between the two wolves is the genetic markers. DNA from twenty of the extinct wolves' remains was studied by scientists. The DNA was then compared to the DNA of four hundred thirty six modern day wolves.

When the comparison was completed, it was found that the extinct Alaskan wolf most closely resembled ancient Czech, Siberian Russian and Ukrainian wolves. Van Valkenburgh stated that "this confirms previously held ideas that gray wolves invaded North America from the Old World via the Beringian land bridge (that once joined Alaska and Siberia) and traveled south of the ice sheets prior to the last glacial maximum 18,000 years ago". Scientists now believe that this is proof that the land was all joined in prehistoric times.

In addition to the DNA comparisons performed, scientists compared the teeth wear of the extinct wolves to that of three hundred thirteen modern North American wolves. The ancient Alaskan wolves ate similar to spotted hyenas of today: they gnawed the bones, and cracked them with its "cheek teeth".