European Taxonomy
A much debated topic is the determination of the subspecies of the wolf. A subspecies is a group of individuals within a species that share a unique geographic area or habitat, unique physical characteristics, or a unique natural history. For many years there were 24 recognized subspecies in North America. The table and image below break down each subspecies.
Eurasia's original subspecies division
| 1. albus | a large, light colored wolf from the northern Russian Federation and northern Finland |
| 2. arabs | a small, buff-colored wolf from the Arabian peninsula; not recognized as a subspecies until 1934 |
| 3. campestris | the central Asian wolf, or Steppe wolf. |
| 4. chanco (= laniger) | the wolf of Mongolia and China |
| 5. cubanensis | found between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, not recognized by some taxonomists |
| 6. *deitanus | a small wolf once found in Spain, now extinct; not recognized as a subspecies by some taxonomists |
| 7. desertorum (=palies) | Asian desert wolf, found in the arid areas east of the Black Sea; not recognized by some taxonomists. |
| 8. *hattei (=rex) | a wolf once found in Hokkaido, Japan; probably now extinct, although some taxonomists believe that it still exists on Sakhalin Island. |
| 9. *hodophilax | a wolf once found in Honshu, Japan: extinct by 1935; much smaller than the C.I. hattai |
| 10. laniger | see chanco |
| 11. lupus | the most common species throughout Eurasia, and the first named of all wolf subspiecies, designated Linnaeus in 1758. |
| 12. *minor | a wolf once found in Hungary and Austria; extinct by the early 1900's. |
| 13. palies | see desertorum |
| 14. pallipes | a small wolf of India and southern Asia; synonymous with arabs, according to some taxonomists |
| 15. rex | see hattai |
| 16. signatus | the Iberian wolf of Spain and Portugal; not recognized by some taxonomists, although recent genetic work by Robert Wayne at the University of California suggests that it is a true subspecies. |
The table above is useful to give you an idea of characteristics of wolves in their different ranges. It also shows the times at which some of the populations became extinct.
It has been suggested that the subspecies campestris, chanco, and derestorum are synonymous with lupus and distinguished a new subspecies communis for a race of large wolves found in the central northern Russian Federation.
Canis simensis, or "The Abyssinian wolf", inhabits the Ethiopian highlands and is also debated as a true species. The large number of alternate names, which include, Abyssinian jackal, simien jackal, red jackal, simien fox, Abyssinian wolf and Ethiopian wolf, is what makes its taxonomy questionable.
Because of its behavior and ecology, some behavioral biologists question the reclassification of canis simensis to a wolf species by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources)
The Abyssinian wolf preys on rodents exclusively for its diet. Its hide is a reddish color with white patches on its throat, neck and chest.
There are only about 500 left, about half of them living in Bale National Park in southern Ethiopia, much of which lie above the 13,000-foot level.
The Abyssinian wolf is threatened by loss of habitat, diseases spread by dogs, hybridization with dogs, but is mainly threatened by overgrazing by local farmers which reduces the the necessary vegetation to support rodent life.
Abyssinian (Ethiopian) Wolf Range