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Newfoundland wolf facts for kids

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Newfoundland wolf
Stuffed Newfoundland wolf.jpg
Stuffed specimen
Conservation status
Extinct
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species:
Subspecies:
C. l. beothucus
Trinomial name
Canis lupus beothucus
Allen & Barbour, 1937
North American gray wolf subspecies distribution according to Goldman (1944) & MSW3 (2005).png
Historical and present range of gray wolf subspecies in North America

The Newfoundland wolf (Canis lupus beothucus) was a subspecies of grey wolf that was native to Newfoundland.

Description

It was described as being a medium-sized, slender-skulled wolf with a white pelt, though melanists also occurred. In comparison to its mainland relatives it bears a striking difference in its internal accessory cusp angles allowing for distinction between subspecies. The last specimen was reportedly killed in 1911.

The Wolves of North America (1944) C. l. beothucus ♂
Skull

Taxonomy

This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005). In 1912, Gerrit S. Miller Jr have concluded that in North America, specifically west of the Mississippi River and Hudson Bay, and north of the Platte and Columbia rivers, there are three types of wolves: timber-wolf, plains-wolf, and tundra-wolf.

Recent sightings

In 2019 a wolf was shot in Newfoundland after being confused for a coyote. DNA evidence found it, and a second wolf found on Newfoundland to be a Labrador wolf, which are often seen in neighbouring Labrador but rare on Newfoundland.

See also

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