Ancient Predators: Episode 4 - Dire Wolf

In todays video we continue our new series 'Ancient Predators' with episode 4, featuring one of the most famous animals to live alongside humans, The Dire Wolf.

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Disclaimer: I am not an expert, I may get things wrong. I will always link my references below so you may take a dive into researching these topics yourself. I aim to be as factual as possible. Information is always subject to changes as new information is uncovered each year making some theories sound mad and others a little more realistic.

Sources:

[Aspen]

2 questions. First, did dire wolves occur the same niche as gray wolves? Nature seems to abhor 2 species that occupy the same niche. Second, if the did occupy the same niche, what gave the gray wolf the advantage over the dire if the behaved much the same?

[seanhennessey]

I said my prayers and went to bed, that's the last they saw of me...

[raphlvlogs]

can dire wolves interbreed with other canid species other than the grey wolves?

[CristinaMarshal]

Lovingly done sir, certainly, I always love to be reminded of these furious hounds.

[indyreno]

Interestingly, the dire wolf along with six other wolf species have been relocated to a separate genus from Canis, which is the genus Aenocyon, this genus is far more basal than any extant genus within the subtribe Canina (Old World Wolf-Like Canines), the Aenocyon genus originated in Asia, the most basal known member is the Zhoukoudian Wolf (Aenocyon variabilis), which resided in Eastern Asia, then the genus diversified into the new world with six other species, the oldest new world member being the Armbruster's Wolf (Aenocyon armbrusteri), then followed by the Miller's Wolf (Aenocyon ferox), then followed by the Edward's Wolf (Aenocyon edwardii), and then by the Dire Wolf (Aenocyon dirus), with the most recent split being between the †Ameghino's Wolf (Aenocyon nehringi) and the †Kraglievich's Wolf (Aenocyon gezi), which are the only two reps of the Aenocyon genus that resided in the southern hemisphere.