On the ancestry and evolution of the extinct dire wolf

Cell Genomics 2026 Open access

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Authors: Gregory Gedman, Kathleen M. Morrill, Jonas Oppenheimer, Chaz Hyseni, Molly Cassatt‐Johnstone, Alexander G. Lucaci, Nicolas Alexandre, William Troy, J. Chris Chao, Olivier Fedrigo, Savannah J. Hoyt, Patrick G. S. Grady
+28 more Sam Sacco, William Seligmann, Ayusman Dash, Mithil Chokshi, Laura Knecht, James B. Papizan, Tyler Miyawaki, Sven Bocklandt, James Kelher, Sara Ord, Shyam Gopalakrishnan, Audrey T. Lin, Brandon R. Peecook, Angela Perri, Mikkel‐Holger S. Sinding, Greger Larson, Julie Meachen, Love Dalén, Bridgett vonHoldt, M Thomas.P. Gilbert, Christopher E. Mason, Rachel J. O’Neill, Elinor K. Karlsson, Brandi L. Cantarel, George R. Martin, George Church, Ben Lamm, Beth Shapiro
DOI: 10.1016/j.xgen.2026.101306
Cited by: 7
References: 149

Abstract

Dire wolves (Aenocyon dirus) are extinct predators of Pleistocene North America. Although phenotypically similar to living wolves (Canis lupus), dire wolves have yet to be placed confidently in the canid family tree. We generated 3.4× and 12.8× paleogenomes from two well-preserved dire wolves dating to >13,000 and >72,000 years ago and estimated consensus species trees for these and 10 canid species. Our results revealed that ∼2/3 of dire wolf ancestry is most likely derived from a lineage sister to the clade comprising the gray wolf, coyote, and dhole and the remaining ∼1/3 from a lineage near the base of Canini diversity. Our results underscore the power of paleogenomes to resolve long-standing taxonomic questions and contribute to growing evidence of the role of post-speciation gene flow as an evolutionary force.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Evolution and Paleontology Studies

Publication details

Journal / source
Cell Genomics
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Volume
6
Issue
8
Pages
101306–101306
Publication date
27 July 2026
Language
EN