View source for Subspecies of Canis lupus

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:Subspecies of ''Canis lupus''}}
[[File:The Wolves of North America (1944) C. lupus subspecies skulls.jpg|thumb|Skulls of various wolf subspecies from North America]]
[[File:Original distribution of gray wolf (canis lupus) subspecies-en.png|thumb|Present and historical range of wild subspecies of ''C. lupus''. This map uses the more broadly defined North American subspecies of Nowak (1995),<ref name=nowak1995/><ref name=chambers2012/> but see also the map under the section titled North America.]]

There are 38 [[subspecies]] of [[Wolf|''Canis lupus'']] listed in the taxonomic authority ''[[Mammal Species of the World]]'' (2005, 3rd edition). These subspecies were named over the past 250 years, and since their naming, a number of them have gone extinct. The [[nominate subspecies]] is the [[Eurasian wolf]] (''Canis lupus lupus'').

==Taxonomy==
In 1758, the Swedish botanist and zoologist [[Carl Linnaeus]] published in his ''[[10th edition of Systema Naturae|Systema Naturae]]'' the [[binomial nomenclature]] – or the two-word naming – of [[species]]. ''[[Canis]]'' is the Latin word meaning "dog",<ref>{{OEtymD|canine}}</ref> and under this [[genus]] he listed the dog-like carnivores including domestic dogs, wolves, and jackals. He classified the domestic dog as ''Canis familiaris'', and on the next page he classified the wolf as ''Canis lupus''.<ref name=linnaeus1758>{{cite book|last=Linnæus|first=Carl|title=Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I|year=1758|publisher=Laurentius Salvius|location=Holmiæ (Stockholm)|pages=39–40|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/80764#page/49/mode/1up|edition= 10th|access-date=November 23, 2012|language=la}}</ref> Linnaeus considered the dog to be a separate species from the wolf because of its head, body, and ''cauda recurvata'' – its upturning tail – which is not found in any other [[canid]].<ref name=Clutton-Brock1995/>

In 1999, a study of [[mitochondrial DNA]] indicated that the domestic dog may have originated from multiple wolf populations, with the [[dingo]] and [[New Guinea singing dog]] "breeds" having developed at a time when human populations were more isolated from each other.<ref name=wayne1999/> In the third edition of ''[[Mammal Species of the World]]'' published in 2005, the mammalogist [[W. Chris Wozencraft|W. Christopher Wozencraft]] listed under the wolf ''Canis lupus'' some 36 wild subspecies, and proposed two additional subspecies: ''familiaris'' Linnaeus, 1758 and ''dingo'' Meyer, 1793. Wozencraft included ''hallstromi'' – the New Guinea singing dog – as a [[taxonomic synonym]] for the dingo. Wozencraft referred to the mDNA study as one of the guides in forming his decision, and listed the 38 subspecies under the biological [[common name]] of "wolf", with the [[nominate subspecies]] being the [[Eurasian wolf]] (''Canis lupus lupus'') based on the [[type specimen]] that Linnaeus studied in Sweden.<ref name=wozencraft2005/> However, the classification of several of these [[Canis|canines]] as either species or subspecies has recently{{when|date=July 2024}} [[#Disputed subspecies|been challenged]].

==List of extant subspecies==
Living subspecies recognized by ''[[MSW3]]'' {{As of|2005|lc=on}}<ref name=wozencraft2005/> and divided into Old World and New World:<ref name=fan2016/>

===Eurasia and Australasia===
Sokolov and Rossolimo (1985) recognised nine Old World subspecies of wolf. These were ''[[Eurasian wolf|C. l. lupus]]'', ''[[Tundra wolf|C. l. albus]]'', ''[[Indian wolf|C. l. pallipes]]'', ''C. l. cubanenesis'', ''[[Steppe wolf|C. l. campestris]]'', ''[[Mongolian wolf|C. l. chanco]]'', ''C. l. desertorum'', ''[[Hokkaido wolf|C. l. hattai]]'', and ''[[Honshu wolf|C. l. hodophilax]]''.<ref name=nowak1995/> In his 1995 statistical analysis of skull [[Morphology (biology)|morphometrics]], mammalogist Robert Nowak recognized the first four of those subspecies, synonymized ''campestris'', ''chanco'' and ''desertorum'' with ''C. l. lupus'', but did not examine the two Japanese subspecies. In addition, he recognized ''C. l. communis'' as a subspecies distinct from ''C. l. lupus''.<ref name=nowak1995/> In 2003, Nowak also recognized the distinctiveness of ''[[Arabian wolf|C. l. {{not a typo|arabs}}]]'', ''[[Hokkaido wolf|C. l. hattai]]'', ''[[Italian wolf|C. l. italicus]]'', and ''[[Honshu wolf|C. l. hodophilax]]''.<ref name="m246">{{Harvnb|Nowak|2003|pp=245–246}}</ref> In 2005, ''MSW3'' included [[Himalayan wolf|''C. l. filchneri'']].<ref name=wozencraft2005/> In 2003, two forms were distinguished in southern China and [[Inner Mongolia]] as being separate from ''C. l. chanco'' and ''C. l. filchneri'' and have yet to be named.<ref name=smith2008/><ref name=wang2003/>
{{Clear}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Eurasian and [[Australasia]]n subspecies of ''Canis lupus''
|-
! scope="col" width=12%| Subspecies
! scope="col" width=12%| Image
! scope="col" width=12%| Authority
! scope="col" width=20%| Description
! scope="col" width=18%| Range
! scope="col" width=26%| Taxonomic synonyms
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. albus''<br />[[Tundra wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. albus mod.jpg|150 px]]
| Kerr, 1792<ref>{{ITIS|id=726809 |taxon=''Canis lupus albus'' Kerr, 1792}}</ref>
| A large, light-furred subspecies.<ref name="heptner1998albus">Heptner, V. G. & Naumov, N., P. (1998) [https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov211998gept#page/182/mode/2up ''Mammals of the Soviet Union'' Vol. II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears)], Science Publishers, Inc., USA, pp. 182-184, {{ISBN|1-886106-81-9}}</ref>
| Northern [[tundra]] and [[forest]] zones in the European and Asian parts of [[Russia]] and [[Kamchatka]]. Outside Russia, its range includes the extreme north of [[Scandinavia]].<ref name="heptner1998albus"/>
| <small>''dybowskii'' Domaniewski, 1926, ''kamtschaticus'' Dybowski, 1922, ''turuchanensis'' Ognev, 1923</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000740 }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. arabs''<br />[[Arabian wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate IV) C. l. arabs mod.jpg|120 px]]
| Pocock, 1934<ref>{{ITIS|id=726811 |taxon=''Canis lupus arabs'' Pocock, 1934}}</ref>
| A small, "desert-adapted" subspecies that is around 66&nbsp;cm tall and weighs, on average, about 18&nbsp;kg.<ref name="Lopez">{{cite book | author = Lopez, Barry | title = Of wolves and men | year = 1978 | isbn = 978-0-7432-4936-2 | publisher = Scribner Classics | location = New York | page = 320}}</ref> Its fur coat varies from short in the summer to long in the winter, possibly because of solar radiation.<ref name="Paquet">{{cite book | author = Fred H. Harrington | author2 = Paul C. Paquet | author2-link = Paul C. Paquet | title = Wolves of the World: Perspectives of Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation | year = 1982 | isbn = 978-0-8155-0905-9 | page = 474| publisher = Elsevier Science }}</ref>
| Southern [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], southern [[Israel]], southern and western [[Iraq]], [[Oman]], [[Yemen]], [[Jordan]], [[Saudi Arabia]] and [[Egypt]] ([[Sinai Peninsula]]).
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. campestris''<br />[[Steppe wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. campestris mod.jpg|130 px]]
| Dwigubski, 1804
| An average-sized subspecies with short, coarse and sparse fur.<ref name="heptner1998campestris">Heptner, V. G. & Naumov, N., P. (1998) [https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov211998gept#page/188/mode/2up ''Mammals of the Soviet Union'' Vol. II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears)], Science Publishers, Inc., USA, pp. 188-89, {{ISBN|1-886106-81-9}}</ref>
| Northern [[Ukraine]], southern [[Kazakhstan]], the [[Caucasus]] and the Trans-Caucasus<ref name="heptner1998campestris"/>
| <small>''bactrianus'' Laptev, 1929, ''cubanenesis'' Ognev, 1923, ''desertorum'' [[Modest Bogdanov|Bogdanov]], 1882</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000747 }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. chanco''<br />[[Himalayan wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III).jpg|130 px]]
| [[Paul Matschie|Matschie]], 1907<ref name="matschie1907" /> 
| Long sharp face, elevated brows, broad head, large pointed ears, thick woolly pelage and very full brush of medial length. Above, dull earthy-brown; below, with the entire face and limbs yellowish-white.<ref name="hodgson1847" />
|The [[Himalayas]] and the [[Tibetan Plateau]] predominating above 4,000 metres in elevation<ref name="Werhahn2020" />
| <small>''laniger'' [[Brian Houghton Hodgson|Hodgson]], 1847</small> 
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. chanco''<br />[[Mongolian wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. chanco mod.jpg|130 px]]
| [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1863<ref name=gray1863/>
| The fur is [[fulvous]], on the back longer, rigid, with intermixed black and gray hairs; the throat, chest, belly, and inside of the legs pure white; head pale gray-brown; forehead grizzled with short black and gray hairs.<ref name=gray1863/>
| [[Mongolia]],<ref name=mivart1890/> northern and central [[China]],<ref name=smith2008/><ref name=wang2003/> [[Korea]],<ref name=abe1923/> and the [[Ussuri River|Ussuri River region]] of Russia<ref name=heptner1998/>
| <small>''coreanus'' Abe, 1923, ''dorogostaiskii'' Skalon, 1936, ''karanorensis'' Matschie, 1907, ''niger'' [[Philip Sclater|Sclater]], 1874, ''tschiliensis'' Matschie, 1907</small>
|-
! scope="row" | [[Canis lupus dingo|''C. l. dingo'']]<br />[[Dingo]] and [[New Guinea singing dog]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate XXXVII).jpg|140 px]]
| Meyer, 1793
| Generally 52–60&nbsp;cm tall at the shoulders and measures 117 to 124&nbsp;cm from nose to tail tip. The average weight is 13 to 20&nbsp;kg.<ref name="27kg">{{cite web|author=Ben Allen |url=http://www.invasiveanimals.com/downloads/Final-proceedings-with-cover.pdf |title=Home Range, Activity Patterns, and Habitat use of Urban Dingoes |website=14th Australasian Vertebrate Pest Conference |publisher=Invasive Animals CRC |year=2008 |access-date=2009-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424014424/http://www.invasiveanimals.com/downloads/Final-proceedings-with-cover.pdf |archive-date=24 April 2009 }}</ref> Fur color is mostly sandy- to reddish-brown, but can include tan patterns and can also be occasionally light brown, black or white.<ref name="impact">{{cite book|last=Fleming|first=Peter|author2=Laurie Corbett |author3=Robert Harden |author4=Peter Thomson |title=Managing the Impacts of Dingoes and Other Wild Dogs|publisher=Bureau of Rural Sciences|location=Commonwealth of Australia|year=2001}}</ref>
| [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] and [[New Guinea]] 
| <small>''[[Dingo (taxon)#"antarticus", .5Bsuppressed.5D|antarticus]]'' Kerr, 1792 [suppressed ICZN O451:1957], ''australasiae'' Desmarest, 1820, ''australiae'' Gray, 1826, ''dingoides'' Matschie, 1915, ''macdonnellensis'' Matschie, 1915, ''novaehollandiae'' Voigt, 1831, ''[[Dingo (taxon)#Canis papuensis, Papua New Guinea|papuensis]]'' Ramsay, 1879, ''[[Dingo (taxon)#"tenggerana", Java|tenggerana]]'' Kohlbrugge, 1896, ''[[New Guinea singing dog|hallstromi]]'' Troughton, 1957, ''[[Dingo (taxon)#"harappensis", ancient dog found in South Asia|harappensis]]'' Prashad, 1936</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000751 }}</ref>

<small>Sometimes included within ''Canis familiaris'' when the domestic dog is recognised as a species.</small><ref name = "ASMdog">{{BioRef|asm|id=1005940|title=''Canis familiaris'' |version=1.5 |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. familiaris''<br />[[Dog|Domestic dog]]<br /><small>but refer Synonyms</small>
|[[File:Yakutian laika (white background).jpg|120 px]]
| Linnaeus, 1758
|The domestic dog is a divergent subspecies of the gray wolf and was derived from an extinct population of Late Pleistocene wolves.<ref name=fan2016/><ref name=freedman2014/><ref name=thalmann2013/> Through [[Evolutionary pressure|selective pressure]] and [[selective breeding]], the domestic dog has developed into hundreds of varied [[List of dog breeds|breeds]] and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal.<ref name="spady">{{Cite journal|vauthors=Spady TC, Ostrander EA |title=Canine Behavioral Genetics: Pointing Out the Phenotypes and Herding up the Genes |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=82 |issue=#1 |pages=10–8 |date=January 2008 |pmid=18179880 |pmc=2253978 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2007.12.001}}</ref>
| Worldwide in association with humans
| <small>Increasingly proposed as the species ''Canis familiaris'' but debated<ref>{{Cite book|title=The domestic dog: its evolution, behavior and interactions with people|others=Serpell, James, 1952-, Barrett, Priscilla|isbn=978-1-107-02414-4|edition= Second|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|pages=8|oclc=957339355|last1=Serpell|first1=James|date=2016-12-08}}</ref><ref name="ASMdog"/></small>


{{smalldiv|1=
''aegyptius'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''alco'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''americanus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''anglicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''antarcticus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''aprinus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''aquaticus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''aquatilis'' Gmelin, 1792,
''avicularis'' Gmelin, 1792,
''borealis'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''brevipilis'' Gmelin, 1792,
''cursorius'' Gmelin, 1792,
''domesticus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''extrarius'' Gmelin, 1792,
''ferus'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''fricator'' Gmelin, 1792,
''fricatrix'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''fuillus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''gallicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''glaucus'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''graius'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''grajus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''hagenbecki'' Krumbiegel, 1950,
''haitensis'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''hibernicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''hirsutus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''hybridus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''islandicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''italicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''laniarius'' Gmelin, 1792,
''leoninus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''leporarius'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''major'' Gmelin, 1792,
''mastinus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''melitacus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''melitaeus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''minor'' Gmelin, 1792,
''molossus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''mustelinus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''obesus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''orientalis'' Gmelin, 1792,
''pacificus'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''plancus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''pomeranus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''sagaces'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''sanguinarius'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''sagax'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''scoticus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''sibiricus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''suillus'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''terraenovae'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''terrarius'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''turcicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''urcani'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''variegatus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''venaticus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''vertegus'' Gmelin, 1792<ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000752 }}</ref>
}}

|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. italicus''<br />[[Italian wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. italicus mod.jpg|150 px]]
| Altobello, 1921
| The pelt is generally of a grey-fulvous colour, which reddens in summer. The belly and cheeks are more lightly coloured, and dark bands are present on the back and tail tip, and occasionally along the fore limbs.
| Native to the [[Italian Peninsula]]; recently expanded into [[Switzerland]] and southeastern [[France]].
| <small>''lupus'' Linnaeus, 1758</small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. lupus''<br />[[Eurasian wolf]]<br />([[Subspecies#Nominotypical subspecies and subspecies autonyms|nominate subspecies]])
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I).jpg|150 px]]
| Linnaeus, 1758<ref>{{ITIS|id=180598 |taxon=''Canis lupus lupus'' Linnaeus, 1758}}</ref>
| Generally a large subspecies with rusty ocherous or light gray fur.<ref name="heptner1998lupus">Heptner, V. G. & Naumov, N., P. (1998) [https://archive.org/stream/mammalsofsov211998gept#page/184/mode/2up ''Mammals of the Soviet Union'' Vol. II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears)], Science Publishers, Inc., USA, pp. 184-87, {{ISBN|1-886106-81-9}}</ref>
| Has the largest range among wolf subspecies and is the most common subspecies in [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], ranging through [[Western Europe]], [[Scandinavia]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Russia]], [[China]], and [[Mongolia]]. Its habitat overlaps with the [[Indian wolf]] in some regions of [[Turkey]].
| <small>''altaicus'' Noack, 1911, ''argunensis'' Dybowski, 1922, ''canus'' [[Edmond de Sélys Longchamps|Sélys Longchamps]], 1839, ''[[Russian wolf|communis]]'' Dwigubski, 1804, ''deitanus'' Cabrera, 1907, ''desertorum'' Bogdanov, 1882, ''flavus'' Kerr, 1792, ''fulvus'' [[Edmond de Sélys Longchamps|Sélys Longchamps]], 1839, ''kurjak'' Bolkay, 1925, ''lycaon'' Trouessart, 1910, ''major'' Ogérien, 1863, ''[[Austro-Hungarian wolf|minor]]'' Ogerien, 1863, ''niger'' Hermann, 1804, ''orientalis'' Wagner, 1841, ''orientalis'' Dybowski, 1922</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000739 }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" |  ''C. l. pallipes''<br />[[Indian wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate IV).jpg|130 px]]
| Sykes, 1831
| A small subspecies with pelage shorter than that of northern wolves and with little to no underfur.<ref name="india">{{cite web| url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19550/19550-h/19550-h.htm#245| title = ''NATURAL HISTORY OF THE MAMMALIA OF INDIA AND CEYLON'' by Robert A. Sterndale, THACKER, SPINK, AND CO. BOMBAY: THACKER AND CO., LIMITED. LONDON: W. THACKER AND CO. 1884.}}</ref> Fur color ranges from grayish-red to reddish-white with black tips. The dark V-shaped stripe over the shoulders is much more pronounced than in northern wolves. The underparts and legs are more or less white.<ref name="canid">''A monograph of the canidae'' by St. George Mivart, F.R.S, published by Alere Flammam. 1890</ref>
|[[India]], [[Pakistan]], [[Iran]], [[Turkey]], [[Saudi Arabia]], northern [[Israel]], and northern [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=REICHMANN |first1=ALON |last2=SALTZ |first2=DAVID |date=2005-01-01 |title=The Golan Wolves: The Dynamics, Behavioral Ecology, and Management of an Endangered Pest |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1560/1BLK-B1RT-XB11-BWJH |journal=Israel Journal of Zoology |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=87–133 |doi=10.1560/1BLK-B1RT-XB11-BWJH |doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 |issn=0021-2210|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. signatus''<br />[[Iberian wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. ibericus mod.jpg|130 px]]
| Cabrera, 1907
| A subspecies with slighter frame than ''C. l. lupus'', white marks on the upper lips, dark marks on the tail, and a pair of dark marks on its front legs.
| Northwest of the [[Iberian Peninsula]], which includes northwestern [[Spain]] and northern [[Portugal]]
| <small>''lupus'' Linnaeus, 1758</small>
|-
|}

===North America===
[[File:North American gray wolf subspecies distribution according to Goldman (1944) & MSW3 (2005).png|thumb|North American wolf subspecies distribution according to Goldman (1944) and Hall (1981). Hall split off ''C. l. griseoalbus'' from Goldman's ''C. l. occidentalis''. These subspecies are included in ''[[MSW3]]'' 2005.]]

For North America, in 1944 the zoologist [[Edward Alphonso Goldman|Edward Goldman]] recognized as many as 23 subspecies based on [[Morphology (biology)|morphology]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Young|first1=Stanley P.|last2=Goldman|first2=Edward A.|title=The Wolves of North America|publisher=Dover Publications, New York|volume=2|year=1944|pages=413–477|isbn=978-0-486-21193-0}}</ref> In 1959, E. Raymond Hall proposed that there had been 24 subspecies of ''lupus'' in North America.<ref>''The Mammals of North America'', E. Raymond Hall & Keith R. Kelson, Ronald Press New York, 1959</ref> In 1970, [[L. David Mech]] proposed that there was "probably far too many subspecific designations...in use", as most did not exhibit enough points of differentiation to be classified as separate subspecies.<ref>Mech, L. David. 1970. ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species''. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis</ref> The 24 subspecies were accepted by many authorities in 1981 and these were based on morphological or geographical differences, or a unique history.<ref>''The Mammals of North America'', E. Raymond Hall, Wiley New York, 1981</ref> In 1995, the American mammalogist Robert M. Nowak analyzed data on the skull morphology of wolf specimens from around the world. For North America, he proposed that there were only five subspecies of the wolf. These include a large-toothed Arctic wolf named ''C. l. arctos'', a large wolf from Alaska and western Canada named ''C. l. occidentalis'', a small wolf from southeastern Canada named ''C. l. lycaon'', a small wolf from the southwestern U.S. named ''C. l. baileyi'' and a moderate-sized wolf that was originally found from Texas to Hudson Bay and from Oregon to Newfoundland named ''C. l. nubilus''.<ref name=mech2003/><ref name=nowak1995/>

The taxonomic classification of ''Canis lupus'' in ''Mammal Species of the World'' (3rd edition, 2005) listed 27 subspecies of North American wolf,<ref name=wozencraft2005/> corresponding to the 24 ''Canis lupus'' subspecies and the three ''Canis rufus'' subspecies of Hall (1981).<ref name=nowak1995/> The table below shows the extant subspecies, with the extinct ones listed in the following section.
{{Clear}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ North American subspecies of ''Canis lupus''
|-
! scope="col" width=12%| Subspecies
! scope="col" width=12%| Image
! scope="col" width=12%| Authority
! scope="col" width=20%| Description
! scope="col" width=18%| Range
! scope="col" width=26%| Taxonomic synonyms
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. arctos''<br />[[Arctic wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. arctos mod.jpg|140 px]]
| Pocock, 1935<ref>{{ITIS|id=726812 |taxon=''Canis lupus arctos'' Pocock, 1935}}</ref>
| A medium-sized, almost completely white subspecies.<ref name="goldman1944arctos">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 430-31</ref>
| [[Melville Island (Northwest Territories and Nunavut)|Melville Island (the Northwest Territories and Nunavut)]], [[Ellesmere Island]]
| <small>The current (2025) classification of the more broadly defined ''C. l. arctos'' of Nowak (1995) synonymizes ''C. l. orion'' and ''C. l. bernardi''.<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal|title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses|publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. baileyi''<br />[[Mexican wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate IV) C. l. baileyi mod.jpg|130 px]]
| Nelson and Goldman, 1929<ref>{{ITIS|id=726813 |taxon=''Canis lupus baileyi'' Nelson and Goldman, 1929}}</ref>
| The smallest of the North American subspecies, with dark fur.<ref name="goldman1944baileyi">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 469-71</ref>
| Southwestern [[New Mexico]] and southeastern [[Arizona]] as well as northern [[Mexico]]; once ranged into western [[Texas]]
|
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. columbianus''<br />[[British Columbia wolf|British Columbian wolf]]
| [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. columbianus mod.jpg|150 px]] 
| Goldman, 1941
|  Smaller-sized; unique diet of fish and smaller-sized deer in temperate rainforest; similar to ''crassodon''.
|  Coastal [[British Columbia]] and coastal [[Yukon]] 
| <small>Currently (2023) synonymized under ''C. l. crassodon''.</small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. crassodon''<br />[[Vancouver Island wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. crassodon mod.jpg|140 px]]
| Hall, 1932
| A medium-sized subspecies with grayish fur; similar to ''columbianus''.<ref name="goldman1944crassodon">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 459-60</ref>
| [[Vancouver Island]], [[British Columbia]]
| <small>Currently (2023) ''C. l. crassodon'' synonymizes ''C. l. ligoni'' and ''C. l. columbianus''.</small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. familiaris''<br />[[Dog|Domestic dog]]<br /><small>but refer Synonyms</small>
|[[File:Yakutian laika (white background).jpg|120 px]]
|
| 
| worldwide
|<small>The domestic dog is a divergent subspecies of the gray wolf and was derived from an extinct population of Late Pleistocene wolves.<ref name=fan2016/><ref name=freedman2014/><ref name=thalmann2013/> Through [[Evolutionary pressure|selective pressure]] and [[selective breeding]], the domestic dog has developed into hundreds of varied [[List of dog breeds|breeds]] and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal.<ref name="spady"/></small>


{{smalldiv|1=
''aegyptius'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''alco'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''americanus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''anglicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''antarcticus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''aprinus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''aquaticus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''aquatilis'' Gmelin, 1792,
''avicularis'' Gmelin, 1792,
''borealis'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''brevipilis'' Gmelin, 1792,
''cursorius'' Gmelin, 1792,
''domesticus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''extrarius'' Gmelin, 1792,
''ferus'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''fricator'' Gmelin, 1792,
''fricatrix'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''fuillus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''gallicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''glaucus'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''graius'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''grajus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''hagenbecki'' Krumbiegel, 1950,
''haitensis'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''hibernicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''hirsutus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''hybridus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''islandicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''italicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''laniarius'' Gmelin, 1792,
''leoninus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''leporarius'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''major'' Gmelin, 1792,
''mastinus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''melitacus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''melitaeus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''minor'' Gmelin, 1792,
''molossus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''mustelinus'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''obesus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''orientalis'' Gmelin, 1792,
''pacificus'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''plancus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''pomeranus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''sagaces'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''sanguinarius'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''sagax'' Linnaeus, 1758,
''scoticus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''sibiricus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''suillus'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''terraenovae'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''terrarius'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''turcicus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''urcani'' C. E. H. Smith, 1839,
''variegatus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''venaticus'' Gmelin, 1792,
''vertegus'' Gmelin, 1792<ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000752 }}</ref>
}}

<small>Increasingly proposed as the species ''Canis familiaris'' but debated<ref>{{Cite book|title=The domestic dog: its evolution, behavior and interactions with people|others=Serpell, James, 1952-, Barrett, Priscilla|isbn=978-1-107-02414-4|edition= Second|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|pages=8|oclc=957339355|last1=Serpell|first1=James|date=2016-12-08}}</ref><ref name="ASMdog"/></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. fuscus''<br />[[Cascade mountain wolf|Cascade Mountains wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate IV) C. l. fuscus mod.jpg|140 px]]
| Richardson, 1839
| A cinnamon-colored subspecies similar to ''columbianus'' and ''irremotus'', but darker in color.<ref name="goldman1944fuscus">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 455-8</ref>
| Coastal [[British Columbia]]. Historically distributed across [[Washington (state)|Washington]], western [[Oregon]], and northern [[California]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Weckworth |first1=Byron V. |last2=Dawson |first2=Natalie G. |last3=Talbot |first3=Sandra L. |last4=Flamme |first4=Melanie J. |last5=Cook |first5=Joseph A. |date=2011-05-04 |editor-last=Fleischer |editor-first=Robert C. |title=Going Coastal: Shared Evolutionary History between Coastal British Columbia and Southeast Alaska Wolves (Canis lupus) |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=6 |issue=5 |article-number=e19582 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0019582 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=3087762 |pmid=21573241 |bibcode=2011PLoSO...619582W }}</ref>
| <small>''gigas'' Townsend, 1850</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000754 }}</ref>
<small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. nubilus''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. hudsonicus''<br />[[Hudson Bay wolf]]
| [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. hudsonicus mod.jpg|140px]]
| Goldman, 1941
| A light-colored subspecies similar to ''occidentalis'', but smaller.<ref name="goldman1944hudsonicus">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 427-29</ref>
| Northern [[Manitoba]] and the [[Northwest Territories]]
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. nubilus''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. irremotus''<br />[[Northern Rocky Mountain wolf]]
| [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. irremotus mod.jpg|140 px]]
| Goldman, 1937<ref name="Goldman"/><ref>{{ITIS|id=726829 |taxon=''Canis lupus irremotus'' Goldman, 1937}}</ref>
| A medium-sized to large subspecies with pale fur.<ref name="goldman1944irremotus">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 445-49</ref>
| The northern [[Rocky Mountains]]
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. occidentalis''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. labradorius''<br />[[Labrador wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate V) C. l. labradorius.jpg|140px]]
| Goldman, 1937<ref name="Goldman"/>
| A medium-sized, light-colored subspecies.<ref name="goldman1944labradorius">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 434-35</ref>
| [[Labrador]] and northern [[Quebec]]; confirmed presence on [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]<ref name=tele1>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetelegram.com/Canada---World/Sports/2012-05-25/article-2987989/Wolf-in-Newfoundland-probably-made-it-to-island-on-ice%2C-experts-say/1|title=Wolf in Newfoundland probably made it to island on ice, experts say|publisher=The Telegram|date=25 May 2012|access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2012/env/0823n04.htm|title=Genetic Retesting of DNA Confirms Second Wolf on Island of Newfoundland |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|access-date=26 August 2012}}</ref>
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. nubilus''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. ligoni''<br />[[Alexander Archipelago wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. ligoni mod.jpg|140px]]
| Goldman, 1937<ref name="Goldman"/>
| A medium-sized, dark-colored subspecies.<ref name="goldman1944ligoni">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 453-55</ref>
| The [[Alexander Archipelago]], [[Alaska]]
| <small>Currently (2023) synonymized under ''C. l. crassodon''.</small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. lycaon''<br />[[Eastern wolf]]<br /><small>but refer Synonyms</small>
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate V).png|130px]]
| Schreber, 1775
| Two forms are known – a small, reddish-brown colored form called the Algonquin wolf; and a slightly larger, more grayish-brown form called the [[Great Lakes wolf]], which is an admixture of the Algonquin wolf and other gray wolves.<ref name="goldman1944lycaon">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 437-41</ref>
| The Algonquin form occupies central [[Ontario]] and southwestern [[Quebec]], particularly in and nearby protected areas, such as [[Algonquin Provincial Park]] in [[Ontario]], and possibly extreme northeastern U.S. and western New Brunswick. The Great Lakes form occupies northern Ontario, [[Wisconsin]] and [[Minnesota]], the Upper Peninsula of [[Michigan]] and southern [[Manitoba]].  Overlaps of the two forms occur, with intermixing in the southern portions of northern Ontario. 
| <small>''canadensis'' de Blainville, 1843, ''ungavensis'' Comeau, 1940</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000763 }}</ref><br /><br /><small>The Algonquin form is currently (2025) recognized as the species ''Canis lycaon''<ref name=wilson2000/> by the American Society of Mammalogists, but its taxonomy is still debated.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Considering Pleistocene North American wolves and coyotes in the eastern Canis origin story |date=5 June 2021 |publisher=Wiley Online Library|doi=10.1002/ece3.7757 |last1=Wilson |first1=Paul J. |last2=Rutledge |first2=Linda Y. |journal=Ecology and Evolution |volume=11 |issue=13 |pages=9137–9147 |pmid=34257949 |pmc=8258226 |bibcode=2021EcoEv..11.9137W }}</ref></small> 
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. mackenzii''<br />[[Mackenzie River wolf]]
| [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. mackenzii mod.jpg|150px]]
| Anderson, 1943
| A subspecies with variable fur and intermediate in size between ''occidentalis'' and ''manningi''.<ref name="goldman1944mackenzii">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 474-76</ref>
| The southern [[Northwest Territories]]
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. occidentalis''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. manningi''<br />[[Baffin Island wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate IV) C. l. manningi mod.jpg|130 px]]
| Anderson, 1943
| The smallest subspecies of the Arctic, with buffy-white fur.<ref name="goldman1944manningi">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 476-77</ref>
| [[Baffin Island]]
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. nubilus''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. occidentalis''<br />[[Northwestern wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. occidentalis mod.jpg|150px]]
| Richardson, 1829
| A very large, usually light-colored subspecies, and the biggest subspecies.<ref name="goldman1944occidentalis">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 424-27</ref>
| [[Alaska]], [[Yukon]], the [[Northwest Territories]], [[British Columbia]], [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]], and the [[northwestern United States]]
| <small>''ater'' Richardson, 1829, ''sticte'' Richardson, 1829<ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000769 }}</ref></small>

<small>The ''C. l. occidentalis'' of Nowak (1995) synonymizes ''alces'', ''columbianus'', ''griseoalbus'', ''mackenzii'', ''pambasileus'' and ''tundrarum'', which is the currently (2025) recognized classification.<ref name=nowak1995/></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. orion''<br />[[Greenland wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. orion mod.jpg|150px]]
| Pocock, 1935
| 
| [[Greenland]] and the [[Queen Elizabeth Islands]]<ref>Nowak, R.M. 1983. A perspective on the taxonomy of wolves in North America. In: Carbyn, L.N., ed. Wolves in Canada and Alaska. Canadian Wildlife Service, Report Series 45:lO-19.</ref>
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. arctos''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. pambasileus''<br />[[Interior Alaskan wolf|Alaskan Interior wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. pambasileus mod.jpg|150 px]]
| Miller, 1912
| The second largest subspecies of wolf, second in skull and tooth proportions only to ''occidentalis'' (see chart above), with fur that is black, white or a mixture of both in color.<ref name="Miller, G.S.">{{Cite web |last=Miller Jr. |first=Gerrit S. |date=8 June 1912 |title=THE NAMES OF THE LARGE WOLVES OF NORTHERN AND WESTERN NORTH AMERICA |url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/23457/1912%20SMC%20v59%20Miller%20Wolves%27%20names%201-5.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=26 October 2022 |website=Smithsonian Research Online}}</ref>
| The [[Interior Alaska|Alaskan Interior]] and [[Yukon]], save for the [[tundra]] region of the Arctic Coast<ref name=mech1981pambasileus>Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, pp. 352-353, {{ISBN|0-8166-1026-6}}</ref>
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. occidentalis''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" |''C. l. nubilus''<br />[[Great Plains wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. nubilus mod.jpg|140px]]
| Say, 1823
| A medium-sized, light-colored subspecies.<ref name="goldman1944nubilus">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 441-45</ref>
| Throughout the [[Great Plains]] from southern [[Manitoba]] and [[Saskatchewan]] southward to northern [[Texas]]<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mech|first1=L.|title=The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species|publisher=Doubleday|year=1970|chapter=Appendix A – Subspecies of wolves – North American|isbn=978-0-307-81913-0|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=KOQZrXvczGMC}}|quote=Great Plains wolf; buffalo wolf; loafer. This is another extinct subspecies. It once extended throughout the Great Plains from southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan southward to northern Texas.}}</ref>
| <small>''variabilis'' Wied-Neuwied, 1841</small>.<ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000768 }}</ref> <small>Previously thought extinct in 1926, the Great Plains wolf's descendants were found in the northeastern region of the United States and have become federally protected since 1974.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-387-85952-1|title=Recovery of Gray Wolves in the Great Lakes Region of the United States, An Endangered Species Success Story|publisher=link.springer.com|year=2009 |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-85952-1 |isbn=978-0-387-85951-4 |s2cid=132793403 |editor-last1=Wydeven |editor-last2=Van Deelen |editor-last3=Heske |editor-first1=Adrian P |editor-first2=Timothy R |editor-first3=Edward J }}</ref></small> 

<small>As of 2025 the classification of the more broadly defined ''C. l. nubilus'' of Nowak (1995) synonymizes ''beothucus'', ''fuscus'', ''hudsonicus'', ''irremotus'', ''labridorius'', ''manningi'', ''mogollonensis'', ''monstrabilis'' and ''youngi'', in which case the subspecies is extant in Canada (see infobox map).<ref name=nowak1995/></small>
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. rufus''<br />[[Red wolf]]<br /><small>but refer Synonyms</small> 
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate V) C. l. rufus mod.png|130 px]]
| Audubon and Bachman, 1851
| Has a brownish or cinnamon pelt, with gray and black shading on the back and tail. Generally intermediate in size between other North American wolf subspecies and the [[coyote]]. Like other wolves, it has almond-shaped eyes, a broad muzzle and a wide nose pad though, like the coyote, its ears are proportionately larger. It has a deeper profile, a longer and broader head than the coyote, and has a less prominent ruff than other wolves.<ref name=canis>{{cite web | title = Red Wolf | website = canids.org | url = http://www.canids.org/species/Red_wolf.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081217112919/http://www.canids.org/species/Red_wolf.pdf | archive-date = 2008-12-17 }}</ref> 
| Historically distributed throughout the [[Eastern United States|Eastern]], [[Southern United States|Southern]], and [[Midwestern United States|Midwestern]] [[United States]], from southernmost [[New York (state)|New York]] south to [[Florida]] and west to [[Texas]]. Modern range is eastern [[North Carolina]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fws.gov/southeast/wildlife/mammals/red-wolf/|title=Red wolf|website=Southeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-10}}</ref>
| {{smalldiv|Currently considered a distinct species, ''Canis rufus'', but this proposal is still debated.<ref name=chambers2012/> As a species, the red wolf would have the following subspecies:
#''[[Canis rufus rufus]]'', formerly ''Canis niger rufus'' (Texas red wolf) 
#''[[Canis rufus floridanus]]'', formerly ''Canis niger niger'' (Florida black wolf) 
#''[[Canis rufus gregoryi]]'', formerly ''Canis niger gregoryi'' (Mississippi Valley red wolf)
}}
|-
! scope="row" | ''C. l. tundrarum''<br />[[Alaskan tundra wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. tundrarum mod.jpg|150 px]]
| Miller, 1912
| A large, white-colored subspecies closely resembling ''pambasileus'', though lighter in color.<ref name=mech1981tundrarum>Mech, L. David (1981), ''The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species'', University of Minnesota Press, p. 353, {{ISBN|0-8166-1026-6}}</ref>
| The [[Barren Grounds]] of the Arctic Coast region from near [[Point Barrow]] eastward toward [[Hudson Bay]] and probably northwards to the [[Arctic Archipelago]]<ref name=miller1912>{{cite journal | last1 = Miller | first1 = G. S. | year = 1913 | title = The names of the large wolves of northern and western North America | journal = Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections | volume = 59 | issue = #15 }}</ref>
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. occidentalis''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|}

==List of extinct subspecies==
{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Fossil subspecies of ''Canis lupus''
|-
! scope="col" width=12%| Subspecies
! scope="col" width=12%| Image
! scope="col" width=12%| Authority
! scope="col" width=20%| Description
! scope="col" width=18%| Range
! scope="col" width=26%| Taxonomic synonyms
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. maximus''
| 
|Boudadi-Maligne, 2012<ref name=Boudadi2012>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2012.04.003|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1631068312000802|title=Une nouvelle sous-espèce de loup (Canis lupus maximus nov. Subsp.) dans le Pléistocène supérieur d'Europe occidentale [A new subspecies of wolf (Canis lupus maximus nov. subsp.) from the upper Pleistocene of Western Europe]|journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol|volume=11|issue=7|page=475|year=2012|last1=Boudadi-Maligne|first1=Myriam|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
|The [[largest prehistoric animals|largest]] subspecies of all known extinct and extant wolves from [[Western Europe]]. The wolf's long bones are 10% longer than those of extant European wolves, 12% larger than those of ''C. l. santenaisiensis'' and 20% longer than those of ''C. l. lunellensis''.<ref name=Boudadi2012/> The teeth are robust, the posterior denticules on the lower premolars p2, p3, p4 and upper P2 and P3 are highly developed, and the diameter of the lower carnassial (m1) were larger than any known European wolf.<ref name=Boudadi2012/>
|Jaurens Cave, southern [[France]]
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. spelaeus''<br />[[Cave wolf]]
|[[File:Prehistorische dierenresten uit Noord-Brabant (1998) fig. 19 colorized.png|140 px]]
|Goldfuss, 1823<ref>{{cite book|last1=Goldfuss|first1=G. A.|title=Osteologische Beiträge zur Kenntniss verschiedener Säugethiere der Vorwelt (Osteological contributions to different knowledge Beast of the ancients)|publisher=Nova Acta Physico-Medica Academiea Caesarae Leopoldino-Carolinae Naturae Curiosorum|volume=3|year=1823|chapter=5-Ueber den Hölenwolf (Canis spelaeus) (About the Cave wolf)|pages=451–455|chapter-url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=-vzoIQL1-8EC|page=449}}}}</ref>
|Its bone proportions are close to those of the [[Northwestern wolf|Canadian Arctic-boreal mountain-adapted timber wolf]] and a little larger than those of the modern [[Eurasian wolf|European wolf]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Diedrich|first1=Cajus G.|title=Famous Planet Earth Caves: Sophie's Cave (Germany) - A Late Pleistocene Cave Bear Den|publisher=Bentham Books|volume=1|year=2015|isbn=978-1-68108-001-7|url={{Google books|plainurl=yes|id=JJH8DQAAQBAJ}}}} ebook - e{{ISBN|978-1-68108-000-0}}</ref>
|Across Europe
|<small>''brevis'' Kuzmina, 1994</small><ref>{{cite journal | last1= Baryshnikov | first1=Gennady F. | last2=Mol | first2=Dick | last3= Tikhonov | first3=Alexei N | date=2009 | title=Finding of the Late Pleistocene carnivores in Taimyr Peninsula (Russia, Siberia) with paleoecological context | url=http://zmmu.msu.ru/rjt/articles/article.php?volume=8&issue=2&pages=107-113| journal=Russian Journal of Theriology | volume=8 | issue=2 | pages=107–113 | access-date=September 7, 2022| doi=10.15298/rusjtheriol.08.2.04 | doi-broken-date=12 July 2025 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] Unnamed Late Pleistocene Italian subspecies
|
|Berte, Pandolfi, 2014<ref name=berte2014>{{cite journal|last1=Berte|first1=E.|last2=Pandolfi|first2=L.|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269333851|title=''Canis lupus'' (Mammalia, Canidae) from the Late Pleistocene deposit of Avetrana (Taranto, Southern Italy)|journal=Rivista Italiana di Paleontoligia e Stratigrafia|volume=120|issue=3|year=2014|pages=367–379}}</ref>
|Known from fragmentary remains, it was a large subspecies comparable in size and shape to ''C. l. maximus''.<ref name=berte2014/>
|[[Avetrana]] ([[Italy]])
|
|}

Subspecies recognized by ''[[MSW3]]'' {{As of|2005|lc=on}} which have gone extinct over the past 150 years:<ref name=wozencraft2005/> 
{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Extinct subspecies of ''Canis lupus''
|-
! scope="col" width=12%| Subspecies
! scope="col" width=12%| Image
! scope="col" width=12%| Authority
! scope="col" width=20%| Description
! scope="col" width=18%| Range
! scope="col" width=26%| Taxonomic synonyms
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. alces''<br />[[Kenai Peninsula wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. alces mod.png|140px]]
| Goldman, 1941<ref>{{ITIS|id=726810 |taxon=''Canis lupus alces'' Goldman, 1941}}</ref>
| One of the largest North American subspecies, similar to ''pambasileus''. Its fur color is silver-gray or brindle-black.<ref name="goldman1944alces">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 422-24</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Collier |first1=Arthur James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lig-wdYZFvQC&pg=RA3-PA51 |title=Mineral Resources of Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: Gold Fields of the Turnagain Arm Region |last2=Butts |first2=Charles |last3=Moffit |first3=Fred Howard |last4=Prindle |first4=Louis Marcus |last5=Gannett |first5=Samuel Stinson |last6=Dale |first6=Thomas Nelson |last7=Hess |first7=Frank Lee |date=1907 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=51 |language=en}}</ref>
|The [[Kenai Peninsula]], Alaska
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. occidentalis''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. beothucus''<br />[[Newfoundland wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. beothocus mod.jpg|140px]]
| G. M. Allen and Barbour, 1937
| A medium-sized, white-furred subspecies.<ref name="goldman1944beothucus">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 435-36</ref> Its former range is slowly being claimed by its relative, the [[Labrador wolf]] (''C. l. labradorius'').
| [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]]
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. nubilus''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. bernardi''<br />[[Bernard's wolf|Banks Island wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. bernardi mod.jpg|140 px]] 
|Anderson, 1943
| A large, slender subspecies with a narrow muzzle and large carnassials.<ref name="goldman1944bernardi">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 472-74</ref> 
|Limited to [[Banks Island|Banks]] and [[Victoria Island (Canada)|Victoria Island]]s in the Canadian Arctic 
|<small>''banksianus'' Anderson, 1943</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000746 }}</ref>
<small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. arctos''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. floridanus''<br />[[Florida black wolf]]<br /><small>but refer Synonyms</small>
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate V) C. l. floridanus.jpg|130 px]]
| Miller, 1912
| A jet-black subspecies that is described as having been extremely similar to the [[red wolf]] in both size and weight.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=90eEeae4rmIC&dq=%22Florida+Black+wolf%22&pg=PA42 "The Wolf"], ''Alsatian Shepalute's: A New Breed for a New Millennium'' by Lois Denny, AuthorHouse, 2004, Pg. 42</ref> This subspecies became extinct in 1908.<ref>Klinkenberg, Jeff, [https://archive.today/20130111073323/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/50193046.html?dids=50193046:50193046&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+11,+1990&author=JEFF+KLINKENBERG&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&desc=For+saving+the+Florida+panther,+it's+desperation+time&pqatl=google "For saving the Florida panther, it's desperation time"], [[St. Petersburg Times]], February 11, 1990</ref>
| [[Florida]]
|<small>Currently (2025) recognized as a subspecies of ''Canis rufus''<ref name=chambers2012/> as ''Canis rufus floridanus'', but debated</small> 

|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. gregoryi''<br />[[Gregory's wolf|Mississippi Valley wolf]]<br /><small>but refer Synonyms</small>
|
| Goldman, 1937<ref name="Goldman"/>
| A medium-sized subspecies, though slender and tawny; its coat contained a mixture of various colors, including black, white, gray and cinnamon.<ref name="Goldman">{{Cite journal |last=Goldman |first=E. A. |date=1937 |title=The Wolves of North America |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=37–45 |doi=10.2307/1374306 |jstor=1374306 |issn=0022-2372}}</ref>
|In and around the lower [[Mississippi River]] basin
| <small>Currently (2025) recognized as a subspecies of ''Canis rufus''<ref name=chambers2012/> as ''Canis rufus gregoryi'', but debated</small>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. griseoalbus''<br />[[Manitoba wolf]]
| [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. griseoalbus-occidentalis mod.jpg|150px]]
| Baird, 1858
|
| Northern [[Alberta]], [[Saskatchewan]], and [[Manitoba]]
| <small>''knightii'' Anderson, 1945</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000756 }}</ref>
<small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. occidentalis''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. hattai''<br />[[Hokkaido wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I) C. l. hattai.jpg|140 px]]
| [[Kyukichi Kishida|Kishida]], 1931
| Similar in size, and related to, the wolves of North America.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2108/zsj.27.320|pmid=20377350 |title=Osteological and Genetic Analysis of the Extinct Ezo Wolf (Canis Lupus Hattai) from Hokkaido Island, Japan|journal=Zoological Science|volume=27|issue=#4 |pages=320–4|year=2010 |last1=Ishiguro |first1=Naotaka|last2=Inoshima |first2=Yasuo|last3=Shigehara |first3=Nobuo |last4=Ichikawa|first4=Hideo|last5=Kato|first5=Masaru|s2cid=11569628 }}</ref>
| [[Hokkaido]], [[Sakhalin]],<ref>Nowak, R.M. 1995. Another look at wolf taxonomy. Pages 375-397 in L.H. Carbyn, S.H. Fritts, D.R. Seip, editors. Ecology and Conservation of Wolves in a Changing World. Canadian Circumpolar Institute, Edmonton, Canada.[http://redwolves.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/13-Nowak-1995.pdf] (refer to page 396)</ref><ref name=walker2008/> the [[Kamchatka peninsula|Kamchatkan Peninsula]], and [[Iturup]] and [[Kunashir Island|Kunashir]] Islands just to the east of Hokkaido in the [[Kuril Islands|Kuril Archipelago]]<ref name=walker2008>{{cite book|author=Walker, Brett|year=2008|title=The Lost Wolves of Japan|publisher=University of Washington Press}}</ref>
| <small>''rex'' Pocock, 1935</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000757 }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. hodophilax''<br />[[Japanese wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate V) C. l. hodophilax mod.jpg|120 px]]
| [[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]], 1839
| Smaller in size compared to other subspecies, except for the [[Arabian wolf]] (''C. l. arabs'').<ref name=walker2008/>
| Japanese islands of [[Honshū]], [[Shikoku]], and [[Kyūshū]] (but not [[Hokkaido]])<ref>Shigehara N, Hongo H (2000) Dog and wolf remains of the earliest Jomon period at Torihama site in Fukui Prefecture. Torihama-Kaizuka-Kennkyu 2: 23–40 (in Japanese)</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2108/zsj.26.765|pmid=19877836|title=Mitochondrial DNA Analysis of the Japanese Wolf (Canis Lupus Hodophilax ''Temminck'', 1839) and Comparison with Representative Wolf and Domestic Dog Haplotypes|journal=Zoological Science|volume=26|issue=#11|pages=765–70|year=2009|last1=Ishiguro|first1=Naotaka |last2=Inoshima|first2=Yasuo|last3=Shigehara|first3=Nobuo|s2cid=27005517|doi-access=free}}</ref>
| <small>''japonicus'' Nehring, 1885</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000758 }}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. mogollonensis''<br />[[Mogollon mountain wolf|Mogollon Mountains wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. mogollonensis mod.jpg|140 px]]
| Goldman, 1937<ref name="Goldman"/>
| A small, dark-colored subspecies, intermediate in size between ''youngi'' and ''baileyi''.<ref name="goldman1944mogollonensis">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 463-66</ref>
| [[Arizona]] and [[New Mexico]]
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. nubilus''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. monstrabilis''<br />[[Texas wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. monstrabilis mod.jpg|140 px]]
| Goldman, 1937<ref name="Goldman"/>
| Similar in size and color to ''mogollonensis'' and possibly the same subspecies.<ref name="goldman1944monstrabilis">Young, Stanley P.; Goldman, Edward A. (1944). ''The Wolves of North America, Part II''. New York, Dover Publications, Inc., pp. 466-68</ref>
| [[Texas]], [[New Mexico]], and northern [[Mexico]]
| <small>''niger'' Bartram, 1791</small><ref>{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000767 }}</ref>
<small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. nubilus''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. youngi''<br />[[Southern Rocky Mountain wolf]]
|[[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate III) C. l. youngi mod.jpg|140 px]]
| Goldman, 1937<ref name="Goldman"/>
| A medium-sized, light-colored subspecies closely resembling ''nubilus'', though larger, with more blackish-buff hairs on the back.<ref name=glover>Glover, A. (1942), [https://archive.org/stream/extinctvanishing00allerich#page/226/mode/2up/search/wolf ''Extinct and vanishing mammals of the western hemisphere, with the marine species of all the oceans''], American Committee for International Wild Life Protection, pp. 227-229.</ref>
| Southeastern [[Idaho]], southwestern [[Wyoming]], northeastern [[Nevada]], [[Utah]], western and central [[Colorado]], northwestern [[Arizona]] and northwestern [[New Mexico]]
| <small>Currently (2025) synonymized under ''C. l. nubilus''<ref name=nowak1995/><ref>{{cite journal |title=An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses |publisher= Department of Environment and Conservation, Newfoundland and Labrador|date=23 August 2012|doi=10.3996/nafa.77.0001 |last1=Amaral |first1=Michael |last2=Fazio |first2=Bud |last3=Fain |first3=Steven R. |last4=Chambers |first4=Steven M. |journal=North American Fauna |volume=77 |pages=1–67 |doi-access=free }}</ref></small>
|}

Subspecies discovered since the publishing of ''[[MSW3]]'' in 2005 which have gone extinct over the past 150 years: 
{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Extinct subspecies of ''Canis lupus''
|-
! scope="col" width=12%| Subspecies
! scope="col" width=12%| Image
! scope="col" width=12%| Authority
! scope="col" width=20%| Description
! scope="col" width=18%| Range
! scope="col" width=26%| Taxonomic synonyms
|-
! scope="row" | [[extinction|†]] ''C. l. cristaldii''<br />[[Sicilian wolf]]
|[[File:Canis lupus cristaldii subsp. nov.png|140 px]]
| Angelici and Rossi, 2018<ref>Angelici, F. M. & Rossi, L., [https://museodistorianaturale.comune.verona.it/media/_Musei/_StoriaNaturale/_Allegati/Biblioteca/Bollettino/Bollettino%2042(2018)/01._Angelici_Rossi_42.pdf A new subspecies of grey wolf (Carnivora, Canidae), recently extinct, from Sicily, Italy], Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona, 42, 2018 Botanica Zoologia: 03-15</ref>
| A slender, short-legged subspecies with light, tawny-colored fur. The dark bands present on the forelimbs of the mainland Italian wolf were absent or poorly defined in the Sicilian wolf.
| [[Sicily]]
| 
|}

==Disputed subspecies==
{{multiple image
| align     =  
| direction = horizontal
| total_width = 400

| image1    = Eurowolfskull.jpg
| width1    = 
| alt1      = 
| caption1  = Skull of a European wolf

| image2    = Canadawolfskull.jpg
| width2    = 
| alt2      = 
| caption2  = Skull of a Canadian wolf
}}

===Global===
In 2019, a workshop hosted by the [[IUCN]]/SSC Canid Specialist Group considered the New Guinea singing dog and the dingo to be feral dogs (''Canis familiaris'').<ref name=Alvares2019>{{cite report |title=Old World ''Canis'' spp. with taxonomic ambiguity: Workshop conclusions and recommendations, 28th–30th May 2019 |first1=F. |last1=Alvares |first2=W. |last2=Bogdanowicz |first3=L.A.D. |last3=Campbell |first4=R. |last4=Godinho |first5=J. |author6-link=Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala |last5=Hatlauf |first6=Y.V. |last6=Jhala |first7=A. C. |last7=Kitchener|first8=K.-P. |last8=Koepfli |first9=M. |last9=Krofel |first10=P. D. |last10=Moehlman |first11=H. |last11=Senn |first12=C. |last12=Sillero-Zubiri |first13=S. |last13=Viranta |first14=G. |last14=Werhahn |year=2019 |publisher=IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos |location=Vairão, Portugal |url=https://www.canids.org/CBC/Old_World_Canis_Taxonomy_Workshop.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212111856/https://www.canids.org/CBC/Old_World_Canis_Taxonomy_Workshop.pdf |archive-date=2020-02-12 |url-status=live |access-date=6 March 2020}}</ref> In 2020, a literature review of canid domestication stated that modern dogs were not descended from the same ''Canis'' lineage as modern wolves, and proposed that dogs may be descended from a Pleistocene wolf closer in size to a village dog.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.tree.2019.10.011|pmid=31810775|title=The History of Farm Foxes Undermines the Animal Domestication Syndrome|journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution|volume=35|issue=2|pages=125–136|year=2020|last1=Lord|first1=Kathryn A.|last2=Larson|first2=Greger|last3=Coppinger|first3=Raymond P.|last4=Karlsson|first4=Elinor K.|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020TEcoE..35..125L }}</ref> In 2021, the [[American Society of Mammalogists]] also considered dingos a feral dog (''Canis familiaris'') population.<ref name="ASMdog"/>

===Eurasia===
[[File:Vertebrati del Molise e dell'Abruzzo (1925) C. l. lupus & C. l. italicus.jpg|thumb|Giuseppe Altobello's 1925 comparative illustration of the skulls and dentition of ''[[Canis lupus lupus|C. l. lupus]]'' ('''a''') and ''[[Canis lupus italicus|C. l. italicus]]'' ('''b'''). The distinct status of the latter is currently unrecognized by MSW3.]]

====Italian wolf====
{{Further|Italian wolf}}
The [[Italian wolf]] (or Apennine wolf) was first recognised as a distinct subspecies (''Canis lupus italicus'') in 1921 by zoologist Giuseppe Altobello.<ref name="altobello1921">{{in lang|it}} Altobello, G. (1921), ''[http://www.storiadellafauna.it/scaffale/testi/alto/Carnivo.htm Fauna dell'Abruzzo e del Molise. Mammiferi. IV. I Carnivori (Carnivora)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504133849/http://www.storiadellafauna.it/scaffale/testi/alto/Carnivo.htm |date=2016-05-04 }}'', Colitti e Figlio, Campobasso, pp. 38-45</ref>  Altobello's classification was later rejected by several authors, including [[Reginald Innes Pocock]], who [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonymised]] ''C. l. italicus'' with ''C. l. lupus''.<ref name="nowak2002">{{cite journal | last1 = Nowak | first1 = R. M. | last2 = Federoff | first2 = N. E. | year = 2002 | title = The systematic status of the Italian wolf Canis lupus | journal = Acta Theriologica | volume = 47 | issue = #3| pages = 333–338 | doi=10.1007/bf03194151| bibcode = 2002AcTh...47..333N | s2cid = 366077 }}</ref> In 2002, the noted paleontologist R.M. Nowak reaffirmed the morphological distinctiveness of the Italian wolf and recommended the recognition of ''Canis lupus italicus''.<ref name="nowak2002"/> A number of DNA studies have found the Italian wolf to be genetically distinct.<ref name="wayne1992">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1046/j.1523-1739.1992.06040559.x| title = Mitochondrial DNA Variability of the Gray Wolf: Genetic Consequences of Population Decline and Habitat Fragmentation| journal = Conservation Biology| volume = 6| issue = #4| pages = 559–569| year = 1992| last1 = Wayne | first1 = R. K. | last2 = Lehman | first2 = N. | last3 = Allard | first3 = M. W. | last4 = Honeycutt | first4 = R. L. | bibcode = 1992ConBi...6..559W}}</ref><ref name="randi2000">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1046/j.1523-1739.2000.98280.x| title = Mitochondrial DNA Variability in Italian and East European Wolves: Detecting the Consequences of Small Population Size and Hybridization| journal = Conservation Biology| volume = 14| issue = #2| pages = 464–473| year = 2000| last1 = Randi | first1 = E. | last2 = Lucchini | first2 = V. | last3 = Christensen | first3 = M. F. | last4 = Mucci | first4 = N. | last5 = Funk | first5 = S. M. | last6 = Dolf | first6 = G. | last7 = Loeschcke | first7 = V. | bibcode = 2000ConBi..14..464R| s2cid = 86614655}}</ref> In 2004, the genetic distinction of the Italian wolf subspecies was supported by analysis which consistently assigned all the wolf [[genotype]]s of a sample in [[Italy]] to a single group. This population also showed a unique [[mitochondrial DNA]] control-region [[haplotype]], the absence of private [[alleles]] and lower [[Heterozygous|heterozygosity]] at microsatellite [[Locus (genetics)|loci]], as compared to other wolf populations.<ref>V. LUCCHINI, A. GALOV and E. RANDI'' Evidence of genetic distinction and long-term population decline in wolves (Canis lupus) in the Italian Apennines''. Molecular Ecology (2004) 13, 523–536. [https://archive.today/20120604094904/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118794860/abstract abstract online]</ref> In 2010, a genetic analysis indicated that a single wolf haplotype (w22) unique to the Apennine Peninsula and one of the two haplotypes (w24, w25), unique to the Iberian Peninsula, belonged to the same haplogroup as the prehistoric wolves of Europe. Another haplotype (w10) was found to be common to the Iberian peninsula and the Balkans. These three populations with geographic isolation exhibited a near lack of gene flow and spatially correspond to three glacial refugia.<ref name=pilot2010/>

The taxonomic reference ''[[Mammal Species of the World]]'' (3rd edition, 2005) does not recognize ''Canis lupus italicus''; however, [[National Center for Biotechnology Information|NCBI]]/[[Genbank]] publishes research papers under that name.<ref>{{cite web|title=NCBI search Canis lupus italicus|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=canis+lupus+italicus}}</ref>

====Iberian wolf====
{{Further|Iberian wolf}}
The [[Iberian wolf]] was first recognised as a distinct subspecies (''Canis lupus signatus'') in 1907 by zoologist [[Ángel Cabrera (naturalist)|Ángel Cabrera]]. The wolves of the Iberian peninsula have [[Morphology (biology)|morphologically]] distinct features from other [[Eurasian wolf|Eurasian wolves]] and each are considered by their researchers to represent their own subspecies.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.signatus.org/docs/situation.pdf| title = The wolf in Spain}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2000.tb00801.x|title=Food habits and livestock depredation of two Iberian wolf packs (Canis lupus signatus) in the north of Portugal|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=251|issue=#4|pages=457–462|year=2000 |last1=Vos|first1=J.}}</ref>

The taxonomic reference ''[[Mammal Species of the World]]'' (3rd edition, 2005) does not recognize ''Canis lupus signatus''; however, [[National Center for Biotechnology Information|NCBI]]/[[Genbank]] does list it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canis lupus signatus|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=425934}}</ref>

====Himalayan wolf====
{{Further|Himalayan wolf}}
{{Cladogram|align=right|title=[[Phylogenetic tree]] with timing in years for ''Canis lupus''{{refn|group=lower-alpha|name=mtdna_seq_desc|For a full set of supporting references, refer to note (a) in the phylotree at [[Evolution of the wolf#Wolf-like canids|Evolution of the wolf]]}}
|cladogram={{clade | style = font-size:85%;line-height:80%;width:375px;
 |style1=background-color:#ccccff;
 |label1=250,000
 |1={{clade
  |label1=120,000
  |1={{clade
   |label1=80,000
   |1={{clade
    |label1=31,000
    |1={{clade
     |1=[[Dog|Domestic dog]] [[File:Tibetan mastiff (transparent background).png|50 px]]
     |2=Holarctic [[Wolf|gray wolf]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I).png|50 px]]
     }}
    |2=[[Megafaunal wolf|Late Pleistocene wolf]]† [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I).png|50 px]]
    }}
   |2=[[Indian wolf#Canis indica|Indian plains wolf]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I).png|50 px]]
   }}
   |2=[[Himalayan wolf]] [[File:Dogs, jackals, wolves, and foxes (Plate I).png|50 px]]
  }}
 }}
}}

The Himalayan wolf is distinguished by its [[mitochondrial DNA]], which is basal to all other wolves. The taxonomic name of this wolf is disputed, with the species ''Canis himalayensis'' being proposed based on two limited DNA studies.<ref name=agga2007/><ref name=sharma2004/><ref name=shrotriya2012/> In 2017, a study of [[mitochondrial DNA]], [[X-chromosome]] (maternal lineage) markers and [[Y-chromosome]] (male lineage) markers found that the Himalayan wolf was genetically [[Basal (phylogenetics)|basal]] to the Holarctic grey wolf and has an association with the [[African golden wolf]].<ref name=werhahn2017/>

In 2019, a workshop hosted by the [[IUCN]]/SSC Canid Specialist Group noted that the Himalayan wolf's distribution included the Himalayan range and the Tibetan Plateau. The group recommends that this wolf lineage be known as the "Himalayan wolf" and classified as ''Canis lupus chanco'' until a genetic analysis of the holotypes is available.<ref name=Alvares2019/> In 2020, further research on the Himalayan wolf found that it warranted species-level recognition under the Unified Species Concept, the Differential Fitness Species Concept, and the Biological Species Concept. It was identified as an Evolutionary Significant Unit that warranted assignment onto the [[IUCN Red List]] for its protection.<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/jbi.13824|title=Himalayan wolf distribution and admixture based on multiple genetic markers|year=2020|last1=Werhahn|first1=Geraldine|last2=Liu|first2=Yanjiang|last3=Meng|first3=Yao|last4=Cheng|first4=Chen|last5=Lu|first5=Zhi|last6=Atzeni|first6=Luciano|last7=Deng|first7=Zhixiong|last8=Kun|first8=Shi|last9=Shao|first9=Xinning|last10=Lu|first10=Qi|last11=Joshi|first11=Jyoti|last12=Man Sherchan|first12=Adarsh|last13=Karmacharya|first13=Dibesh|last14=Kumari Chaudhary|first14=Hemanta|last15=Kusi|first15=Naresh|last16=Weckworth|first16=Byron|last17=Kachel|first17=Shannon|last18=Rosen|first18=Tatjana|last19=Kubanychbekov|first19=Zairbek|last20=Karimov|first20=Khalil|last21=Kaden|first21=Jennifer|last22=Ghazali|first22=Muhammad|last23=MacDonald|first23=David W.|last24=Sillero-Zubiri|first24=Claudio|last25=Senn|first25=Helen|journal=Journal of Biogeography|volume=47|issue=6|pages=1272–1285|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020JBiog..47.1272W }}</ref>

====Indian plains wolf====
{{Further|Indian wolf#Canis indica}}
The [[Indian wolf#Canis indica|Indian plains wolf]] is a proposed clade within the Indian wolf (''Canis lupus pallipes'') that is distinguished by its mitochondrial DNA, which is basal to all other wolves except for the Himalayan wolf. The taxonomic status of this wolf clade is disputed, with the separate species ''Canis indica'' being proposed based on two limited DNA studies.<ref name=agga2007/><ref name=sharma2004/> The proposal has not been endorsed because it relied on a limited number of museum and zoo samples that may not have been representative of the wild population, and a call for further fieldwork has been made.<ref name=shrotriya2012/>

The taxonomic reference ''Mammal Species of the World'' (3rd edition, 2005) does not recognize ''Canis indica''; however, [[National Center for Biotechnology Information|NCBI]]/[[Genbank]] lists it as a new subspecies, ''Canis lupus indica''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canis lupus indica|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=242524}}</ref>

====Southern Chinese wolf====
In 2017, a comprehensive study found that the gray wolf was present across all of mainland China, both in the past and today. It exists in southern China, which refutes claims made by some researchers in the Western world that the wolf had never existed in southern China.<ref name=wang2017/><ref name=larson2017/> This wolf has not been taxonomically classified.<ref name=smith2008/><ref name=wang2003/>

In 2019, a genomic study on the wolves of China included museum specimens of wolves from southern China that were collected between 1963 and 1988. The wolves in the study formed three clades: northern Asian wolves that included those from northern China and eastern Russia, [[Himalayan wolf|Himalayan wolves]] from the Tibetan Plateau, and a unique population from southern China. One specimen from [[Zhejiang]] Province in eastern China shared gene flow with the wolves from southern China; however, its genome was 12–14 percent admixed with a canid that may be the dhole or an unknown canid that predates the genetic divergence of the [[dhole]]. The wolf population from southern China is believed to still exist in that region.<ref name=Wang2019/>

===North America===

====Coastal wolves====
A study of the three coastal wolves indicates a close phylogenetic relationship across regions that are geographically and ecologically contiguous, and the study proposed that ''Canis lupus ligoni'' (the [[Alexander Archipelago wolf]]), ''Canis lupus columbianus'' (the [[British Columbia wolf|British Columbian wolf]]), and ''Canis lupus crassodon'' (the [[Vancouver Coastal Sea wolf]]) should be recognized as a single subspecies of ''Canis lupus'', synonymized as ''Canis lupus crassodon''.<ref name=weckworth2011/> They share the same habitat and prey species, and form one study's six identified North American [[ecotype]]s – a genetically and ecologically distinct population separated from other populations by their different types of habitat.<ref name=schweitzer2016a/><ref name=schweitzer2016b/>

====Eastern wolf====
{{Further|Eastern wolf}}
The eastern wolf has two proposals over its origin. One is that the eastern wolf is a distinct species (''C. lycaon'') that evolved in North America, as opposed to the gray wolf that evolved in the Old World, and is related to the red wolf. The other is that it is derived from admixture between gray wolves, which inhabited the Great Lakes area and coyotes, forming a hybrid that was classified as a distinct species by mistake.<ref name=wayne2016/>

The taxonomic reference ''[[Mammal Species of the World]]'' (3rd edition, 2005) does not recognize ''Canis lycaon''; however, [[National Center for Biotechnology Information|NCBI]]/[[Genbank]] does list it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canis lycaon|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=228401}}</ref> In 2021, the [[American Society of Mammalogists]] also considered ''Canis lycaon'' a valid species.<ref>{{BioRef|asm|id=1005944|title=''Canis lycaon'' |version=1.5 |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

====Red wolf====
{{Further|Red wolf}}
The red wolf is an enigmatic taxon, of which there are two proposals over its origin. One is that the red wolf is a distinct species (''C. rufus'') that has undergone human-influenced admixture with coyotes. The other is that it was never a distinct species but was derived from past admixture between coyotes and gray wolves, due to the gray wolf population being eliminated by humans.<ref name=wayne2016>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/mec.13642|pmid=27064931|title=Hybridization and endangered species protection in the molecular era|journal=Molecular Ecology|volume=25|issue=#11|pages=2680–9|year=2016|last1=Wayne|first1=Robert K.|last2=Shaffer|first2=H. Bradley|s2cid=15939116|doi-access=free|bibcode=2016MolEc..25.2680W }}</ref>

The taxonomic reference ''[[Mammal Species of the World]]'' (3rd edition, 2005) does not recognize ''Canis rufus''; however, [[National Center for Biotechnology Information|NCBI]]/[[Genbank]] does list it.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canis rufus|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=45781}}</ref> In 2021, the [[American Society of Mammalogists]] also considered ''Canis rufus'' a valid species.<ref>{{BioRef|asm|id=1005945|title=''Canis rufus'' |version=1.5 |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of gray wolf populations by country]]
* [[Wolf distribution]]
* [[Cave wolf]]
* [[Pleistocene wolf]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
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<ref name=wilson2000>{{cite journal|doi=10.1139/z00-158|title=DNA profiles of the eastern Canadian wolf and the red wolf provide evidence for a common evolutionary history independent of the gray wolf|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume=78|issue=#12|page=2156|year=2000|last1=Wilson|first1=Paul J|last2=Grewal|first2=Sonya|last3=Lawford|first3=Ian D|last4=Heal|first4=Jennifer NM|last5=Granacki|first5=Angela G|last6=Pennock|first6=David|last7=Theberge|first7=John B|last8=Theberge|first8=Mary T|last9=Voigt|first9=Dennis R|last10=Waddell|first10=Will|last11=Chambers|first11=Robert E|last12=Paquet|first12=Paul C|last13=Goulet|first13=Gloria|last14=Cluff|first14=Dean|last15=White|first15=Bradley N |bibcode=2000CaJZ...78.2156W }}</ref>

<ref name=wozencraft2005>{{MSW3 Wozencraft |id=14000738 |pages=575–577 |heading=''Canis lupus''}}</ref>
}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180596 Canis lupus on the ITIS] ([[Integrated Taxonomic Information System]])

{{Canidae extinct nav|W.}}
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{{Mammal lists}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subspecies of Canis Lupus}}
[[Category:Subspecies of Canis lupus| ]]
[[Category:Taxonomic lists (subspecies)|Canis lupus]]