Baffin Island wolf

For other uses, see Islands wolf.
Baffin Island wolf
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: C. lupus
Subspecies: C. l. manningi
Trinomial name
Canis lupus manningi
Anderson, 1943 (1908)[1]

The Baffin Island wolf (Canis lupus manningi), also known as the Baffin Island tundra wolf,[2] is a subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis lupus, which resides exclusively on Baffin Island and several nearby islands.[3] It was not formally recognized as a subspecies until 1943, when it was given its taxonomic classification by Anderson.[4]

Physiology

Description

The Baffin Island wolf is described as being light colored, sometimes white, and unusually small, as compared to other wolf subspecies. It is proposed to be the smallest of all Arctic wolf types.[4][5][6]

History

Early records and evidence suggest that the wolves in western Greenland migrated there from Baffin Island and are, thus, descendants of the Baffin Island wolf subspecies.[6]

In 1966, a study was conducted on the Baffin Island wolf, of which a preliminary assessment had been made the year before in 1965 at Wordie Bay, by the University of Toronto. It was helped by students from the university as well.[7]

References

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