Hokkaido wolf
| Hokkaidō wolf | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Canis lupus hattai | |
| Conservation status | |
| Extinct (1889) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Species: | C. lupus |
| Subspecies: | C. l. hattai |
| Trinomial name | |
| Canis lupus hattai Kishida, 1931 | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Hokkaidō wolf, known in Japan as the Ezo wolf (エゾオオカミ（蝦夷狼） Ezo Ōkami, Canis lupus hattai), is one of the two extinct subspecies of Canis lupus that have been called the Japanese wolf. The other is the Honshū wolf.
This endemic wolf of Japan occupied the island of Hokkaidō. The Hokkaidō wolf was larger than the Honshū wolf, more closely approaching the size of a regular gray wolf.
Description
The Ezo wolf was a distinct subspecies, and had a more traditionally wolf-like appearance than its southern cousin, the Honshū wolf. The skull was large and formidable, with long, curved canines, and the body dimensions were similar to that of grey wolves. The Ezo wolf was typically grey in coloration and significantly larger than the wolves of Honshū.
Like the Honshū wolf, the Ezo wolf descended from Siberian wolves from the Asian mainland, yet the Hokkaido subspecies retained a size closer to these large ancestors.
Extinction
The wolf was deemed a threat to ranching (which the Meiji government promoted at the time) and targeted via a bounty system and a direct chemical extermination campaign. Hokkaidō experienced significant development during this period, which led to the Hokkaidō wolf suffering from resulting environmental disruption.[2]
While the Ezo wolf is now extinct, there has been claim of people seeing it north of Sapporo City, although this has not been verified. The Hokkaidō wolf became extinct during the Meiji restoration period, which spanned from 1868 to 1912.[3]
See also
- Cryptozoology
- Hokkaido (dog)
- Shikoku Inu
References
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Wikispecies has information related to: Canis lupus hattai |
- ↑ Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. Mammal Species of the World (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ↑ Brett L. Walker, "Meiji Modernization, Scientific: Agriculture, and the Destruction of Japan's Hokkaidō Wolf," Environmental History, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2004.
- ↑ Hall, Jamie (2005). "The Cryptid Zoo: Japanese Dwarf Wolf (or Shamanu)". Retrieved 2006-06-15.
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