The dire wolf is an extinct canine. The dire wolf lived in the Americas during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs. The species was named in 1858, four years after the first specimen had been found. Two subspecies are recognized: Aenocyon dirus guildayi and Aenocyon dirus dirus. The largest collection of its fossils has been obtained from the Rancho La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.
Dire wolf
Display at the Page Museum of 404 dire wolf skulls found in the La Brea Tar Pits
Gray wolf skeleton (left) compared with a dire wolf skeleton
Restoration of a pack in Rancho La Brea by Charles R. Knight, 1922
The Caninae, known as canines, are one of three subfamilies found within the canid family. The other two canid subfamilies are the extinct Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae. The Caninae includes all living canids and their most recent fossil relatives. Their fossils were first found in North America and dated to the Oligocene era, then spreading to Asia at the end of the Miocene era, some 7 million to 8 million years ago.
Caninae
Image: Wolf on alert
Image: Dhole (Asiatic wild dog) cropped
Image: African wild dog (Lycaon pictus pictus)