Which wolf subspecies do you think inhabited the Northeast?

[SiameseSam]

Various sources and map of animal historic ranges Ive read say that red wolves inhabited the Northeast (the sources mention mainly NY and Pennslyvyania, but some also mention Maine), but other sources mention that gray wolves (specifically Lyacon-the eastern subspecies that lives in Canada today) lived in those regions. Its possible they both lived in the same area, but I dont see enough evidence to support that. I believe gray wolves, and some other extinct undocumented subspecies, inhabited the northeast.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wolf

 

The red wolf was first described by William Bartram, who encountered it in Florida and wrote of it in his Travels (1791), noting that it was smaller and lighter in color than the gray wolves of Canada and Pennsylvania.^[43] John James Audubonwas the first to describe the red wolf in detail, giving it the trinomial name of Canis lupus rufus in 1851. He described it as being more fox-like than the gray wolf, but retaining the same "sneaking, cowardly, yet ferocious disposition".

 

A scientist pointed out that Pennslyvanias wolves looked different from the wolves of the southeast, and looked more like Canadian wolves.

 

http://www.defenders.org/publications/wolf_reintroduction_feasibility_in_adirondack_park.pdf

 

It doesnt let me copy and paste, so Ill just paraphrase some of what it said.

 

It said NY had a rare wolf subspecies that was "black bulky and rare", and most commonly a grey wolf with "short reddish hairs in the summer". While the florida black wolf was a dark subspecies of red wolf, I dont think red wolves were bulkier than gray ones. That article says the wolves of NY were occidentalis, which makes no sense, because theres no DNA evidence to back it up, and all wolf subspecies maps I view dont show them living that east. I guess scientists just speculated and guested they were Northwestern wolves, because they looked similar.

 

Other sources point to red wolves living as far north as PA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_wolf

 

The originally-recognized red wolf range extended throughout the Southeast, from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, north to the Ohio River Valley and central Pennsylvania, and west to Central Texas and southeastern Missouri. But research into paleontological, archaeological and historical specimens of red wolves by Ronald Nowak expanded their known range to include land south of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada, along the eastern seaboard, and west to Missouri and mid-Illinois, terminating in the southern latitudes of Central Texas

 

 

[MonDie]

Various sources and map of animal historic ranges Ive read say that red wolves inhabited the Northeast (the sources mention mainly NY and Pennslyvyania, but some also mention Maine), but other sources mention that gray wolves (specifically Lyacon-the eastern subspecies that lives in Canada today) lived in those regions. Its possible they both lived in the same area, but I dont see enough evidence to support that. I believe gray wolves, and some other extinct undocumented subspecies, inhabited the northeast.

I tihnk you've made a communication mistake. You dispute that they occupied the northest, then propose that they occupied the northeast.

 

 

 

It said NY had a rare wolf subspecies that was "black bulky and rare", and most commonly a grey wolf with "short reddish hairs in the summer". While the florida black wolf was a dark subspecies of red wolf, I dont think red wolves were bulkier than gray ones.

The Wikipedia articles assign gray wolf as Canis lupus, and red wolf alternately as Canis rufus or Canis lupus rufus. Maybe their status as a subspecies of Canis lupus is disputed, in which case there may still be gene flow between the populations. Alternatively, the common name "red wolf" might not denote an evolutionary clade - common names aren't assigned by scientists and aren't used in any precise manner.

Edited March 10, 2015 by MonDie

[Harold Squared]

Truly. In the wild it would be hard to assess the incidence and outcomes of matings between so-called "red" and "gray" individuals. The distinctions based on scent are likely to be of greater interest to the canines rather than slight variations in color, unless I am missing something. Interesting question.