False identity - Wolf

A selection of unrelated mammals commonly known as wolves, to scale.

Wolf (plural wolves) is a European name given specifically to the widespread grey wolf Canis lupus. The name's origins are linked to the Old English wulf and Proto-Germanic wulfaz, while the Latin lupus is thought to have Proto-Indo-European roots. Several dog-like species have also been referred to as wolves, even when distantly related.

* Red wolf - Under the original Linnean taxonomy, the Canidae (dog-like carnivorans) included dogs and their closest relatives, such as jackals and wolves, within the genus Canis. Modern genetic studies show that dogs are descended from the grey wolf (www.deviantart.com/artbyjrc/ar…) while the coyote is the closest living wild species. In addition there are a number of other Canis species which have borrowed the name, such as the African/Golden wolf (www.deviantart.com/artbyjrc/ar…) and Ethiopian wolf. Complicating matters is the ability of all Canis species to hybridise. The red wolf native to the South-eastern USA is a contentious species which has been considered a separate species, subspecies of C. lupus, or a natural hybrid population mix of grey wolf and coyotes. The red wolf, like it's larger relative, is a cursorial pack predator.

* Maned wolf - Aside from Canis, there are several canid examples from South America known as wolves. Tallest of all living canids, the maned wolf is possibly the most familiar cerdocyonine and related to smaller fox-like species. It is a solitary hunter, ambushing small prey and consuming a large proportion of vegetable matter in it's diet. Two recently extinct relatives are also vaguely wolf-like, including the Falklands Islands wolf (www.deviantart.com/artbyjrc/ar…).

* Aardwolf - Living hyaenids (Hyaenidae) are a small remnant of a extinct diversity (see www.deviantart.com/artbyjrc/ar…) with three of the four existing species of hyena from the bone-crushing lineage. The fourth is the aardwolf, the last surviving member of the dog-like hyenas, which as it's name suggests more closely resembles a canid in body form. Unlike most carnivorans it is a termite specialist.

* Tasmanian wolf - Possibly one of the most striking cases of convergent evolution is the similar features between canids and the marsupial thylacinids (Thylacinidae, see www.deviantart.com/artbyjrc/ar…). The only species to live into historical times is known simply as the thylacine, but is commonly referred to as the Tasmanian tiger (on account of the dorsal stripes) or the Tasmanian wolf. The name Tasmanian wolf is both incorrect and rather ironic - thylacines were only restricted to the island of Tasmania following widespread human activity, notably the introduction of the dingo (itself a descendant of true wolves), land use and climate change. In overall form it resembled a large short-haired dog with a stiff and distinctly uncanid-like tail. Unlike true wolves, the thylacine was not a fast runner and preferred to ambush prey. The last known specimen died in captivity in 1936.