Subspecies of Canis lupus
| Canis lupus species Temporal range: 0.7–0 Ma Middle – Recent |
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_C._lupus_subspecies_skulls.jpg) |
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| Skulls of various gray wolf subspecies from North America | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | Caninae |
| Tribe: | Canini |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Species: | C. lupus |
| Binomial name | |
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Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| Subspecies | |
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Numerous and disputed |
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| Historical range of wild subspecies of C. lupus | |
Numerous and disputed
Canis lupus has 37 subspecies currently described, including the dingo, Canis lupus dingo, and the domestic dog, Canis lupus familiaris, and many subspecies of wolf throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The nominate subspecies is Canis lupus lupus.
Canis lupus is assessed as least concern by the IUCN, as its relatively widespread range and stable population trend mean that the species, at global level, does not meet, or nearly meet, any of the criteria for the threatened categories. However, some local populations are classified as endangered, and some subspecies are endangered or extinct.
Biological taxonomy is not fixed, and placement of taxa is reviewed as a result of new research. The current categorization of subspecies of Canis lupus is shown below. Also included are synonyms, which are now discarded duplicate or incorrect namings, or in the case of the domestic dog synonyms, old taxa referring to subspecies of domestic dog which, when the dog was declared a subspecies itself, had nowhere else to go. Common names are given but may vary, as they have no set meaning.
The species Canis lupus was first recorded by Carl Linnaeus in his publication Systema Naturae in 1758, with the Latin classification translating into the English words "dog wolf".
A subspecies is the taxonomic rank below species. When geographically separate populations of a species exhibit recognizable phenotypic differences, biologists may identify these as separate subspecies; a subspecies is a recognized local variant of a species. The thirty-seven subspecies of Canis lupus are listed in Mammal Species of the World third edition that was published in 2005. The nominate subspecies is the Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus), also known as the common wolf. The subspecies includes the domestic dog, dingo, eastern wolf and red wolf. However, the classification of several as either species or subspecies has recently been challenged.
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