Subspecies of Canis lupus

There are many different kinds of wolves that belong to the species Canis lupus. Scientists recognize 38 subspecies of this wolf species, as listed in a book called Mammal Species of the World from 2005. These subspecies were given their names over the last 250 years. Sadly, some of these wolf types have disappeared since they were first named. The most common type is called the Eurasian wolf, known scientifically as Canis lupus lupus.

Taxonomy

In 1758, the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus gave wolves their scientific name, Canis lupus, in his book Systema Naturae. He thought wolves and domestic dogs were different species because dogs have a special upturning tail.

Later studies showed that domestic dogs might have come from many different wolf groups. In 2005, a scientist named W. Christopher Wozencraft listed 38 different kinds, or subspecies, of wolves. The main one is called the Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus). Some people still debate whether some of these groups should be considered separate species or not.

List of extant subspecies

Living subspecies of the gray wolf recognized by Mammal Species of the World (2005) are divided into groups from the Old World and the New World.

Eurasia and Australasia

Scientists have recognized nine subspecies of wolves in the Old World. These include C. l. lupus, C. l. albus, C. l. pallipes, C. l. campestris, C. l. chanco, C. l. hattai, and C. l. hodophilax. Some studies have grouped certain subspecies together, while others have recognized additional ones, such as C. l. arabs, C. l. italicus, and C. l. filchneri. In southern China and Inner Mongolia, two forms have been identified that may represent new subspecies, but they have not yet been named.

North America

In the past, scientists recognized up to 24 subspecies of wolves in North America based on physical features or geographic location. Later studies suggested there may be far fewer distinct subspecies. By 2005, Mammal Species of the World listed 27 subspecies of North American wolves, including both Canis lupus and Canis rufus subspecies.

Eurasian and Australasian subspecies of Canis lupus

Subspecies	Image	Authority	Description	Range	Taxonomic synonyms
C. l. albus Tundra wolf		Kerr, 1792	A large, light-furred subspecies.	Northern tundra and forest zones in the European and Asian parts of Russia and Kamchatka. Outside Russia, its range includes the extreme north of Scandinavia.	dybowskii Domaniewski, 1926, kamtschaticus Dybowski, 1922, turuchanensis Ognev, 1923
C. l. arabs Arabian wolf		Pocock, 1934	A small, "desert-adapted" subspecies that is around 66 cm tall and weighs, on average, about 18 kg. Its fur coat varies from short in the summer to long in the winter, possibly because of solar radiation.	Southern Palestine, southern Israel, southern and western Iraq, Oman, Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt (Sinai Peninsula).
C. l. campestris Steppe wolf		Dwigubski, 1804	An average-sized subspecies with short, coarse and sparse fur.	Northern Ukraine, southern Kazakhstan, the Caucasus and the Trans-Caucasus	bactrianus Laptev, 1929, cubanenesis Ognev, 1923, desertorum Bogdanov, 1882
C. l. chanco Himalayan wolf & Mongolian wolf		Gray, 1863	Himalayan Wolf: Long sharp face, elevated brows, broad head, large pointed ears, thick woolly pelage and very full brush of medial length. Above, dull earthy-brown; below, with the entire face and limbs yellowish-white. Mongolian Wolf: The fur is fulvous, on the back longer, rigid, with intermixed black and gray hairs; the throat, chest, belly, and inside of the legs pure white; head pale gray-brown; forehead grizzled with short black and gray hairs.	Himalayan Wolf: The Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau predominating above 4,000 metres in elevation Mongolian Wolf: Mongolia, northern and central China, Korea, and the Ussuri River region of Russia	niger Sclater, 1874; filchneri Matschie, 1907; karanorensis Matschie, 1907; tschiliensis Matschie, 1907; coreanus Abe, 1923; dorogostaiskii Skalon, 1936,
C. l. dingo Dingo and New Guinea singing dog		Meyer, 1793	Generally 52–60 cm tall at the shoulders and measures 117 to 124 cm from nose to tail tip. The average weight is 13 to 20 kg. Fur color is mostly sandy- to reddish-brown, but can include tan patterns and can also be occasionally light brown, black or white.	Australia and New Guinea	antarticus Kerr, 1792 [suppressed ICZN O451:1957], australasiae Desmarest, 1820, australiae Gray, 1826, dingoides Matschie, 1915, macdonnellensis Matschie, 1915, novaehollandiae Voigt, 1831, papuensis Ramsay, 1879, tenggerana Kohlbrugge, 1896, hallstromi Troughton, 1957, harappensis Prashad, 1936 Sometimes included within Canis familiaris when the domestic dog is recognised as a species.
C. l. familiaris Domestic dog but refer Synonyms		Linnaeus, 1758	The domestic dog is a divergent subspecies of the gray wolf and was derived from an extinct population of Late Pleistocene wolves. Through selective pressure and selective breeding, the domestic dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal.	Worldwide in association with humans	Increasingly proposed as the species Canis familiaris but debated aegyptius Linnaeus, 1758, alco C. E. H. Smith, 1839, americanus Gmelin, 1792, anglicus Gmelin, 1792, antarcticus Gmelin, 1792, aprinus Gmelin, 1792, aquaticus Linnaeus, 1758, aquatilis Gmelin, 1792, avicularis Gmelin, 1792, borealis C. E. H. Smith, 1839, brevipilis Gmelin, 1792, cursorius Gmelin, 1792, domesticus Linnaeus, 1758, extrarius Gmelin, 1792, ferus C. E. H. Smith, 1839, fricator Gmelin, 1792, fricatrix Linnaeus, 1758, fuillus Gmelin, 1792, gallicus Gmelin, 1792, glaucus C. E. H. Smith, 1839, graius Linnaeus, 1758, grajus Gmelin, 1792, hagenbecki Krumbiegel, 1950, haitensis C. E. H. Smith, 1839, hibernicus Gmelin, 1792, hirsutus Gmelin, 1792, hybridus Gmelin, 1792, islandicus Gmelin, 1792, italicus Gmelin, 1792, laniarius Gmelin, 1792, leoninus Gmelin, 1792, leporarius C. E. H. Smith, 1839, major Gmelin, 1792, mastinus Linnaeus, 1758, melitacus Gmelin, 1792, melitaeus Linnaeus, 1758, minor Gmelin, 1792, molossus Gmelin, 1792, mustelinus Linnaeus, 1758, obesus Gmelin, 1792, orientalis Gmelin, 1792, pacificus C. E. H. Smith, 1839, plancus Gmelin, 1792, pomeranus Gmelin, 1792, sagaces C. E. H. Smith, 1839, sanguinarius C. E. H. Smith, 1839, sagax Linnaeus, 1758, scoticus Gmelin, 1792, sibiricus Gmelin, 1792, suillus C. E. H. Smith, 1839, terraenovae C. E. H. Smith, 1839, terrarius C. E. H. Smith, 1839, turcicus Gmelin, 1792, urcani C. E. H. Smith, 1839, variegatus Gmelin, 1792, venaticus Gmelin, 1792, vertegus Gmelin, 1792
C. l. italicus Italian wolf		Altobello, 1921	The pelt is generally of a grey-fulvous colour, which reddens in summer. The belly and cheeks are more lightly coloured, and dark bands are present on the back and tail tip, and occasionally along the fore limbs.	Native to the Italian Peninsula; recently expanded into Switzerland and southeastern France.	lupus Linnaeus, 1758
C. l. lupus Eurasian wolf (nominate subspecies)		Linnaeus, 1758	Generally a large subspecies with rusty ocherous or light gray fur.	Has the largest range among wolf subspecies and is the most common subspecies in Europe and Asia, ranging through Western Europe, Scandinavia, the Caucasus, Russia, China, and Mongolia. Its habitat overlaps with the Indian wolf in some regions of Turkey.	altaicus Noack, 1911, argunensis Dybowski, 1922, canus Sélys Longchamps, 1839, communis Dwigubski, 1804, deitanus Cabrera, 1907, desertorum Bogdanov, 1882, flavus Kerr, 1792, fulvus Sélys Longchamps, 1839, kurjak Bolkay, 1925, lycaon Trouessart, 1910, major Ogérien, 1863, minor Ogerien, 1863, niger Hermann, 1804, orientalis Wagner, 1841, orientalis Dybowski, 1922
C. l. pallipes Indian wolf		Sykes, 1831	A small subspecies with pelage shorter than that of northern wolves and with little to no underfur. Fur color ranges from grayish-red to reddish-white with black tips. The dark V-shaped stripe over the shoulders is much more pronounced than in northern wolves. The underparts and legs are more or less white.	India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, northern Israel, and northern Palestine
C. l. signatus Iberian wolf		Cabrera, 1907	A subspecies with slighter frame than C. l. lupus, white marks on the upper lips, dark marks on the tail, and a pair of dark marks on its front legs.	Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, which includes northwestern Spain and northern Portugal	lupus Linnaeus, 1758

North American subspecies of Canis lupus

Subspecies	Image	Authority	Description	Range	Taxonomic synonyms
C. l. arctos Arctic wolf		Pocock, 1935	A medium-sized, almost completely white subspecies.	Melville Island (the Northwest Territories and Nunavut), Ellesmere Island	The current (2025) classification of the more broadly defined C. l. arctos of Nowak (1995) synonymizes C. l. orion and C. l. bernardi.
C. l. baileyi Mexican wolf		Nelson and Goldman, 1929	The smallest of the North American subspecies, with dark fur.	Southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona as well as northern Mexico; once ranged into western Texas
C. l. columbianus British Columbian wolf		Goldman, 1941	Smaller-sized; unique diet of fish and smaller-sized deer in temperate rainforest; similar to crassodon.	Coastal British Columbia and coastal Yukon	Currently (2023) synonymized under C. l. crassodon.
C. l. crassodon Vancouver Island wolf		Hall, 1932	A medium-sized subspecies with grayish fur; similar to columbianus.	Vancouver Island, British Columbia	Currently (2023) C. l. crassodon synonymizes C. l. ligoni and C. l. columbianus.
C. l. familiaris Domestic dog but refer Synonyms				Worldwide in association with humans	The domestic dog is a divergent subspecies of the gray wolf and was derived from an extinct population of Late Pleistocene wolves. Through selective pressure and selective breeding, the domestic dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal. aegyptius Linnaeus, 1758, alco C. E. H. Smith, 1839, americanus Gmelin, 1792, anglicus Gmelin, 1792, antarcticus Gmelin, 1792, aprinus Gmelin, 1792, aquaticus Linnaeus, 1758, aquatilis Gmelin, 1792, avicularis Gmelin, 1792, borealis C. E. H. Smith, 1839, brevipilis Gmelin, 1792, cursorius Gmelin, 1792, domesticus Linnaeus, 1758, extrarius Gmelin, 1792, ferus C. E. H. Smith, 1839, fricator Gmelin, 1792, fricatrix Linnaeus, 1758, fuillus Gmelin, 1792, gallicus Gmelin, 1792, glaucus C. E. H. Smith, 1839, graius Linnaeus, 1758, grajus Gmelin, 1792, hagenbecki Krumbiegel, 1950, haitensis C. E. H. Smith, 1839, hibernicus Gmelin, 1792, hirsutus Gmelin, 1792, hybridus Gmelin, 1792, islandicus Gmelin, 1792, italicus Gmelin, 1792, laniarius Gmelin, 1792, leoninus Gmelin, 1792, leporarius C. E. H. Smith, 1839, major Gmelin, 1792, mastinus Linnaeus, 1758, melitacus Gmelin, 1792, melitaeus Linnaeus, 1758, minor Gmelin, 1792, molossus Gmelin, 1792, mustelinus Linnaeus, 1758, obesus Gmelin, 1792, orientalis Gmelin, 1792, pacificus C. E. H. Smith, 1839, plancus Gmelin, 1792, pomeranus Gmelin, 1792, sagaces C. E. H. Smith, 1839, sanguinarius C. E. H. Smith, 1839, sagax Linnaeus, 1758, scoticus Gmelin, 1792, sibiricus Gmelin, 1792, suillus C. E. H. Smith, 1839, terraenovae C. E. H. Smith, 1839, terrarius C. E. H. Smith, 1839, turcicus Gmelin, 1792, urcani C. E. H. Smith, 1839, variegatus Gmelin, 1792, venaticus Gmelin, 1792, vertegus Gmelin, 1792 Increasingly proposed as the species Canis familiaris but debated
C. l. fuscus Cascade Mountains wolf		Richardson, 1839	A cinnamon-colored subspecies similar to columbianus and irremotus, but darker in color.	Coastal British Columbia. Historically distributed across Washington, western Oregon, and northern California.	gigas Townsend, 1850 Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. nubilus
C. l. hudsonicus Hudson Bay wolf		Goldman, 1941	A light-colored subspecies similar to occidentalis, but smaller.	Northern Manitoba and the Northwest Territories	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. nubilus
C. l. irremotus Northern Rocky Mountain wolf		Goldman, 1937	A medium-sized to large subspecies with pale fur.	The northern Rocky Mountains	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. occidentalis
C. l. labradorius Labrador wolf		Goldman, 1937	A medium-sized, light-colored subspecies.	Labrador and northern Quebec; confirmed presence on Newfoundland	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. nubilus
C. l. ligoni Alexander Archipelago wolf		Goldman, 1937	A medium-sized, dark-colored subspecies.	The Alexander Archipelago, Alaska	Currently (2023) synonymized under C. l. crassodon.
C. l. lycaon Eastern wolf but refer Synonyms		Schreber, 1775	Two forms are known – a small, reddish-brown colored form called the Algonquin wolf; and a slightly larger, more grayish-brown form called the Great Lakes wolf, which is an admixture of the Algonquin wolf and other gray wolves.	The Algonquin form occupies central Ontario and southwestern Quebec, particularly in and nearby protected areas, such as Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, and possibly extreme northeastern U.S. and western New Brunswick. The Great Lakes form occupies northern Ontario, Wisconsin and Minnesota, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and southern Manitoba. Overlaps of the two forms occur, with intermixing in the southern portions of northern Ontario.	canadensis de Blainville, 1843, ungavensis Comeau, 1940 The Algonquin form is currently (2025) recognized as the species Canis lycaon by the American Society of Mammalogists, but its taxonomy is still debated.
C. l. mackenzii Mackenzie River wolf		Anderson, 1943	A subspecies with variable fur and intermediate in size between occidentalis and manningi.	The southern Northwest Territories	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. occidentalis
C. l. manningi Baffin Island wolf		Anderson, 1943	The smallest subspecies of the Arctic, with buffy-white fur.	Baffin Island	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. nubilus
C. l. occidentalis Northwestern wolf		Richardson, 1829	A very large, usually light-colored subspecies, and the biggest subspecies.	Alaska, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the northwestern United States	ater Richardson, 1829, sticte Richardson, 1829 The C. l. occidentalis of Nowak (1995) synonymizes alces, columbianus, griseoalbus, mackenzii, pambasileus and tundrarum, which is the currently (2025) recognized classification.
C. l. orion Greenland wolf		Pocock, 1935		Greenland and the Queen Elizabeth Islands	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. arctos
C. l. pambasileus Alaskan Interior wolf		Miller, 1912	The second largest subspecies of wolf, second in skull and tooth proportions only to occidentalis (see chart above), with fur that is black, white or a mixture of both in color.	The Alaskan Interior and Yukon, save for the tundra region of the Arctic Coast	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. occidentalis
C. l. nubilus Great Plains wolf		Say, 1823	A medium-sized, light-colored subspecies.	Throughout the Great Plains from southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan southward to northern Texas	variabilis Wied-Neuwied, 1841. Previously thought extinct in 1926, the Great Plains wolf's descendants were found in the northeastern region of the United States and have become federally protected since 1974. As of 2025 the classification of the more broadly defined C. l. nubilus of Nowak (1995) synonymizes beothucus, fuscus, hudsonicus, irremotus, labridorius, manningi, mogollonensis, monstrabilis and youngi, in which case the subspecies is extant in Canada (see infobox map).
C. l. rufus Red wolf but refer Synonyms		Audubon and Bachman, 1851	Has a brownish or cinnamon pelt, with gray and black shading on the back and tail. Generally intermediate in size between other North American wolf subspecies and the coyote. Like other wolves, it has almond-shaped eyes, a broad muzzle and a wide nose pad. However, like the coyote, its ears are proportionately larger. It has a deeper profile, a longer and broader head than the coyote, and a less prominent ruff than other wolves.	Historically distributed throughout the Eastern, Southern, and Midwestern United States, from southernmost New York south to Florida and west to Texas. Modern range is eastern North Carolina.	Currently considered a distinct species, Canis rufus, but this proposal is still debated. As a species, the red wolf would have the following subspecies: Canis rufus rufus, formerly Canis niger rufus (Texas red wolf) Canis rufus floridanus, formerly Canis niger niger (Florida black wolf) Canis rufus gregoryi, formerly Canis niger gregoryi (Mississippi Valley red wolf)
C. l. tundrarum Alaskan tundra wolf		Miller, 1912	A large, white-colored subspecies closely resembling pambasileus, though lighter in color.	The Barren Grounds of the Arctic Coast region from near Point Barrow eastward toward Hudson Bay and probably northwards to the Arctic Archipelago	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. occidentalis

List of extinct subspecies

Some subspecies of wolves that scientists recognized by 2005 have no longer been found in the wild for over 150 years.

Since 2005, a few more subspecies of wolves have also disappeared from the world.

Fossil subspecies of Canis lupus

Subspecies	Image	Authority	Description	Range	Taxonomic synonyms
† C. l. maximus		Boudadi-Maligne, 2012	The largest subspecies of all known extinct and extant wolves from Western Europe. The wolf's long bones are 10% longer than those of extant European wolves, 12% larger than those of C. l. santenaisiensis and 20% longer than those of C. l. lunellensis. The teeth are robust, the posterior denticules on the lower premolars p2, p3, p4 and upper P2 and P3 are highly developed, and the diameter of the lower carnassial (m1) were larger than any known European wolf.	Jaurens Cave, southern France
† C. l. spelaeus Cave wolf		Goldfuss, 1823	Its bone proportions are close to those of the Canadian Arctic-boreal mountain-adapted timber wolf and a little larger than those of the modern European wolf.	Across Europe	brevis Kuzmina, 1994
† Unnamed Late Pleistocene Italian subspecies		Berte, Pandolfi, 2014	Known from fragmentary remains, it was a large subspecies comparable in size and shape to C. l. maximus.	Avetrana (Italy)

Extinct subspecies of Canis lupus

Subspecies	Image	Authority	Description	Range	Taxonomic synonyms
† C. l. alces Kenai Peninsula wolf		Goldman, 1941	One of the largest North American subspecies, similar to pambasileus. Its fur color is silver-gray or brindle-black.	The Kenai Peninsula, Alaska	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. occidentalis
† C. l. beothucus Newfoundland wolf		G. M. Allen and Barbour, 1937	A medium-sized, white-furred subspecies. Its former range is slowly being claimed by its relative, the Labrador wolf (C. l. labradorius).	Newfoundland	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. nubilus
† C. l. bernardi Banks Island wolf		Anderson, 1943	A large, slender subspecies with a narrow muzzle and large carnassials.	Limited to Banks and Victoria Islands in the Canadian Arctic	banksianus Anderson, 1943 Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. arctos
† C. l. floridanus Florida black wolf but refer Synonyms		Miller, 1912	A jet-black subspecies that is described as having been extremely similar to the red wolf in both size and weight. This subspecies became extinct in 1908.	Florida	Currently (2025) recognized as a subspecies of Canis rufus as Canis rufus floridanus, but debated
† C. l. gregoryi Mississippi Valley wolf but refer Synonyms		Goldman, 1937	A medium-sized subspecies, though slender and tawny; its coat contained a mixture of various colors, including black, white, gray and cinnamon.	In and around the lower Mississippi River basin	Currently (2025) recognized as a subspecies of Canis rufus as Canis rufus gregoryi, but debated
† C. l. griseoalbus Manitoba wolf		Baird, 1858		Northern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba	knightii Anderson, 1945 Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. occidentalis
† C. l. hattai Hokkaido wolf		Kishida, 1931	Similar in size, and related to, the wolves of North America.	Hokkaido, Sakhalin, the Kamchatkan Peninsula, and Iturup and Kunashir Islands just to the east of Hokkaido in the Kuril Archipelago	rex Pocock, 1935
† C. l. hodophilax Japanese wolf		Temminck, 1839	Smaller in size compared to other subspecies, except for the Arabian wolf (C. l. arabs).	Japanese islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū (but not Hokkaido)	japonicus Nehring, 1885
† C. l. mogollonensis Mogollon Mountains wolf		Goldman, 1937	A small, dark-colored subspecies, intermediate in size between youngi and baileyi.	Arizona and New Mexico	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. nubilus
† C. l. monstrabilis Texas wolf		Goldman, 1937	Similar in size and color to mogollonensis and possibly the same subspecies.	Texas, New Mexico, and northern Mexico	niger Bartram, 1791 Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. nubilus
† C. l. youngi Southern Rocky Mountain wolf		Goldman, 1937	A medium-sized, light-colored subspecies closely resembling nubilus, though larger, with more blackish-buff hairs on the back.	Southeastern Idaho, southwestern Wyoming, northeastern Nevada, Utah, western and central Colorado, northwestern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico	Currently (2025) synonymized under C. l. nubilus

Extinct subspecies of Canis lupus

Subspecies	Image	Authority	Description	Range
† C. l. cristaldii Sicilian wolf		Angelici and Rossi, 2018	A slender, short-legged subspecies with light, tawny-colored fur. The dark bands present on the forelimbs of the mainland Italian wolf were absent or poorly defined in the Sicilian wolf.	Sicily

Disputed subspecies

In 2019, a group of experts decided that the New Guinea singing dog and the dingo are types of feral dogs (Canis familiaris). In 2020, another review suggested that modern dogs might come from an ancient wolf similar to village dogs. In 2021, the American Society of Mammalogists also agreed that dingos are feral dogs.

The Italian wolf was first named a special type in 1921. Some scientists later disagreed, but recent studies show it is genetically different from other wolves. Similarly, the Iberian wolf was named special in 1907 and also has unique features.

The Himalayan wolf has unique DNA and was suggested to be a separate species. In 2019, experts recommended calling it the Himalayan wolf until more studies are done.

The Indian plains wolf is another group that might be a separate species, but more research is needed. In southern China, gray wolves exist, contrary to some past claims. Studies show three groups of wolves in China.

In North America, coastal wolves like the Alexander Archipelago wolf, British Columbian wolf, and Vancouver Coastal Sea wolf might be the same type. The eastern wolf could either be a special species or a mix of gray wolves and coyotes. The red wolf might also be a mix of gray wolves and coyotes rather than a unique species.