Aenocyon dirus and a gray wolf
2025620256Dire wolf and a gray wolf. Size comparison of extinct and modern animals
Extinct animal - Aenocyon dirus (Canis dirus) or «dire» wolf
Modern relative - gray wolf
More recently, scientists considered the extinct dire wolf to be a wolf or an oversized coyote. That's why they called it that way. Now, as they began to study its genome, it turned out that it's not a wolf or a coyote or even a jackal. Now it's Aenocyon - a separate and unique representative of canids that originated in North America. Nevertheless, it's still a dog, which means that it is a distant relative of the wolf, which replaced it on the continent. Aenocyon was the size of the largest polar wolf and weighed up to 100 kg.
More information about the dire wolf and more images with it you can find on the page Dire wolf
About the Size Comparison Project: In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Roman and Alexandra Uchytel created the Size Comparison Project to compare ancient animals with their modern relatives, which went viral on social media. More details about the Size Comparison Project, as well as links to media publications you can find here
Dire wolf and a gray wolf. Size comparison of extinct and modern animals
Extinct animal - Aenocyon dirus (Canis dirus) or «dire» wolf
Modern relative - gray wolf
More recently, scientists considered the extinct dire wolf to be a wolf or an oversized coyote. That's why they called it that way. Now, as they began to study its genome, it turned out that it's not a wolf or a coyote or even a jackal. Now it's Aenocyon - a separate and unique representative of canids that originated in North America. Nevertheless, it's still a dog, which means that it is a distant relative of the wolf, which replaced it on the continent. Aenocyon was the size of the largest polar wolf and weighed up to 100 kg.
More information about the dire wolf and more images with it you can find on the page Dire wolf
About the Size Comparison Project: In 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, Roman and Alexandra Uchytel created the Size Comparison Project to compare ancient animals with their modern relatives, which went viral on social media. More details about the Size Comparison Project, as well as links to media publications you can find here
