![]() ![]() This implies that the original wolf populations were out-competed by a new type of wolf which replaced them. These analyses indicate a population bottleneck, followed by a rapid radiation from an ancestral population at a time during, or just after, the Last Glacial Maximum. This continuous presence contrasts with genomic analyses, which suggest that all modern wolves and dogs descend from a common ancestral wolf population that existed as recently as 20,000 years ago. ![]() ![]() The archaeological and paleontological records show grey wolf continuous presence for at least the last 300,000 years. This variation in sub-populations is closely linked to differences in habitat – precipitation, temperature, vegetation, and prey specialization – which affect cranio-dental plasticity. Studies of modern grey wolves have identified distinct sub-populations that live in close proximity to each other. The grey wolf Canis lupus is a highly adaptable species that is able to exist in a range of environments and which possesses a wide distribution across the Holarctic. The evolution of the wolf occurred over a geologic time scale of at least 300 thousand years. Illustration of a Pleistocene wolf cranium that was found in Kents Cavern, Torquay, England ![]()
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