Evolution of the Wolf
The wolfs history is not very clear. It is believed by many biologists that they evolved from Miacids, a primitive carnivore that ranged in size from gophers to that of dog sized animals. They are believed to have appeared in the lower tertiary about 52 million years ago.
The place of origination of canids is being questioned by different groups of scientists. Some believe canids originated on the Asian continent and spread toward the north and south, while others believe just the opposite. Still others think they developed in North America, migrated to Asia and then returned.
The wolfs' evolution has been debated for a very long time. It is believed by some that the wolf and dog evolved from a common ancestor, while others believe the dog descended from the wolf. A recommendation from the American society of Mammologists to reclassify the domestic dog to a subspecies of wolf, Canus lupus familiaris. It is believed by biologist Barbara Lawrence that the first domestication of the wolf took place 12,000 years ago. While others, such as Konrad Lorenz, believe that it took place with the feeding of wolves some 50,000 years ago and that it took place several times. This gradually led to the domestication of the canids.
In 1758 the wolf was classified as Canus lupus by Carl von Linne.
| Kingdom | Animalia (all animals) |
| Phylum | Chordata (animals with notochords) |
| Subphylum | Vertabrata (animals with a skeleton or cartilage) |
| Class | Mammalia (mammals) |
| Subclass | Eutheria (Placental mammals) |
| Order | Carnivora (carnivores) |
| Family | Canidae (dog family) |
| Genus | Canis (dogs) |
| Species | lupus (gray wolf) |
It has been at least 10,000 years since humans encountered the gray wolf in North America, as dated by one of the oldest archeological sites that contain both the bones of of wolf and human remains. These were found in the Sandia Cave in Las Huertas Canyon, in New Mexico