Time to Rename Dire Wolf

[suspsy]

Turns out it's not a wolf!

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/dire-wolves-were-not-really-wolves-new-genetic-clues-reveal/?fbclid=IwAR1Ny0zadjMRYwn4QD7xgZaVvvl5MRqx3PwCqSr44Uv-ySTXDkJNipfz3Zs

[Stegotyranno420]

So they are still dogs, just not wolves, right. Also, how accurate is this, like is it 100 percent truth?

[suspsy]

So they are still dogs, just not wolves, right. Also, how accurate is this, like is it 100 percent truth?

Did you read the article before commenting?

[Stegotyranno420]

So they are still dogs, just not wolves, right. Also, how accurate is this, like is it 100 percent truth?

Did you read the article before commenting?

Didnt see most of the essay, i see it now

[Bread]

Thanks for the link Suspy! I assume people will still call this genus "Dire Wolf" as it was featured in Game of Thrones. Not the shows fault, though.
Aenocyon dirus needs a figure, even before it was renamed. Hoping Safari makes one, as their prehistoric mammals have started to interest me.

[Stegotyranno420]

I see, the description of Large North American Dogs is nearly identical to Borophagine, who are a group of large north American dogs. And the picture shown depicts a canid similar to Epicyon, but slightly more wolf like.

[Dusty Wren]

This is fascinating stuff. They were so genetically distinct from other dog lineages that they couldn't even hybridize with gray wolves or coyotes.

Wish I could read the full paper Nature's yearly subscription price is still way too unreasonable for the average reader.

[Stegotyranno420]

This is fascinating stuff. They were so genetically distinct from other dog lineages that they couldn't even hybridize with gray wolves or coyotes.

Wish I could read the full paper Nature's yearly subscription price is still way too unreasonable for the average reader.

Wait you are telling me theres still more? oh my, i can only imagine whats else there is to learn

[suspsy]

This is fascinating stuff. They were so genetically distinct from other dog lineages that they couldn't even hybridize with gray wolves or coyotes.

Wish I could read the full paper Nature's yearly subscription price is still way too unreasonable for the average reader.

Wait you are telling me theres still more? oh my, i can only imagine whats else there is to learn

Again, the Nature paper is mentioned right there in that SA article.

[stargatedalek]

I might have missed it but I don't think this article mentioned their closest relatives are Bush Dogs.

[suspsy]

I might have missed it but I don't think this article mentioned their closest relatives are Bush Dogs.

That would lend credence to depicting them with brown or reddish pelts. I'm very glad now that there haven't been that many dire wolf toys. I should forward this news to CollectA.

And come to think of it, that Playmobil mammoth skeleton tent I reviewed a couple of years ago included a light brown wolf. How fitting.

[Stegotyranno420]

This is fascinating stuff. They were so genetically distinct from other dog lineages that they couldn't even hybridize with gray wolves or coyotes.

Wish I could read the full paper Nature's yearly subscription price is still way too unreasonable for the average reader.

Wait you are telling me theres still more? oh my, i can only imagine whats else there is to learn

Again, the Nature paper is mentioned right there in that SA article.

I understand that, i seen the article, but it only allows me to get to certain point, then an ad for subscription pops up which i cant close.

@stargatedalek that seems interestings, but werent all canines(not canids) not related to the large north american dogs(Possibly Borophagines). Correct me if im wrong. And which one do you mean by bush dog, im getting 2 main results, African Dogs (Lycaon) or Speotho Venaticus. WHich are you refering to?

[Dusty Wren]

Riley Black (who wrote the SA article) mentions that dire wolves fall somewhere between foxes and jackals on the family tree according to the study. They diverged from gray wolves around 5.7 million years ago. Twitter thread about it here with some additional info. 

[Faelrin]

Well this is definitely a game changer for reconstructing one of my favorite prehistoric mammals. No longer can it be treated as a more robust (and/or larger often times) relative of the wolf. I guess it is perhaps a good thing that it has largely been ignored in the toy market now with this study that would have rendered any try likely out of date. Perhaps now would be a good time to give it a try, though like anything in this field I am wary there could be yet another discovery impacting the way we imagine this animal, but well who knows when that may occur.

The idea of it having a reddish coat is certaily interesting though it has got me thinking about canine (and other related carnivorans) coat colorations and how their niche and environment, aside from ancestry, effects that? Is there anything of this nature out there that covers how they've evolved? Of hand the closest I can think off hand is why tigers are striped and are typically orange primarily, because the prey is colorblind and the stripes serve as camoflage. Actually I have been wondering this about dinosaurs, etc as well a lot lately too.

[CityRaptor]

I don't think ithe common name will change anytime soon. After all neither the Maned Wolf nor the Aardwolf are wolves.The latter is not even a canid but a hyena.

[Lanthanotus]

Well, colors are easily changed or better to say can quickly change in an evolutionary way, at least for a certain palette (mammals generally have the more earthy hues, as gey, brown, yellowish, reddish. Blue is generally rare in nature, but especially so in mammals. Green is also rare in mammals but much more common in reptiles, amphibians and birds and can "easily" vary towards yellow and blue). If you look at wolves or foxes, even within a single population there may be a great variation. About dinosaurs and colorblindness, taking in account their ancestry and their descedants its probably safe to assume they had generally good, color eyesight. It may also be noted though, that "striking" colors or patterns may work as good as camouflage as dull or monotonous colors. Tiger`s orange may seem flashy but it really is not, not even in the Siberian winter, because aside from the white there is also a lot of brown, black and "orange" hues from wood, bark and dry leaves reamaining on the undergrowth. Also, think of all those gaudy species in the tropical rainforest but if you`ve ever been there, you will find them quite hard to spot.

About the morphological reconstruction, I think any compay would be hard pressed to work out the very subtle differences the Dire Wolf would differ from a Common Wolf. After all, the DNA may show great differences, but the skeleton was not taken for a big wolf species for nothing. Think of the skeleton of a lion and a leopard for example. If they had the same pelt and someone would make a figure of these, could you tell the differences? I mean, I still look for a nice Saltwater Croc and a Nile Croc, let alone Muggers.....

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

I have seen this posted 6 to 8 times on Facebook today, so I was kinda expecting multiple threads on this forum aha but one is good.
It wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened and it's common name would remain the same of course, but it is interesting discovery.

And as I have pointed out elsewhere it shows just how popular dire wolves are that a Velociraptorine Dromaeosaurid was named today and there is not one mention of it on social media  but this is everywhere.

[CityRaptor]

I blamem Game of Thrones...but a new Velociraptorine Dromaeosaurid? Odd that this would be ignored!

[SBell]

Thanks for the link Suspy! I assume people will still call this genus "Dire Wolf" as it was featured in Game of Thrones. Not the shows fault, though.
Aenocyon dirus needs a figure, even before it was renamed. Hoping Safari makes one, as their prehistoric mammals have started to interest me.

There's at least two, one from Bullyland, one from MPC.
And maybe a RalPartha Beastmasters figure, plus some other DnD and related gaming figures.

[SBell]

Sorry for the double post, but here's the Nature article:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03082-x

I was able to read it, hopefully others can too.