Gregory's wolf
{{Short description|Subspecies of carnivore}}
{{Subspeciesbox
| name = Gregory's wolf
| image = Adult Red Wolf.jpg
| status = CR
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Canis
| species = rufus
| species_link = Red wolf
| subspecies = gregoryi
| authority = Goldman, 1937
| synonyms = * Canis lupus gregoryi
- Canis niger gregoryi
}}
Gregory's wolf (Canis rufus gregoryi), also known as the Mississippi Valley wolf,{{cite journal|jstor=1374306|title=The Wolves of North America|author= E. A. Goldman|journal=Journal of Mammalogy|volume=18|issue= 1|year= 1937|pages= 37–45|doi=10.2307/1374306}} is the sole living subspecies of the red wolf. It once roamed the regions in and around the lower Mississippi River basin. It is the subspecies of red wolf which inhabits North Carolina.{{Cite book |last=Day |first=David |url=https://archive.org/details/vanishedspecies0000dayd/page/162/mode/2up?view=theater |title=The Encyclopedia of Vanished Species |publisher=Gallery Books |year=1989 |location=Manhattan, New York, United States |pages=162–164 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Trani |first=Margaret |url=https://www.nrs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/jrnl/2007/nrs_2007_trani_003.pdf |title=The land manager's guide to mammals of the South |last2=Chapman |first2=Brian |publisher=The Nature Conservancy |year=2007 |location=Durham, NC |pages=441 |language=en}}
Taxonomy
This wolf was recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005). This canid is proposed by some authors as a subspecies of the red wolf (Canis rufus or Canis lupus rufus). The trinomial name Canis rufus gregoryi honours photographer Tappan Gregory, who is the author of "The Black Wolf of the Tensas".{{Cite web |title=The Wolves of North America |url=https://wolfology1.tripod.com/id87.htm |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=wolfology1.tripod.com}}
Description
The subspecies was described as being larger than the Texas red wolf, but more slender and tawny. Its coloring includes a combination of black, grey, and white, along with a large amount of cinnamon coloring along the back of its body and the top of its head. It weighs around {{convert|60|to|70|lb|kg|order=flip}} on average.{{cite book|title=Oklahoma Game and Fish News |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3P5HAAAAYAAJ |year=1954 |publisher=Department of Wildlife Conservation, State of Oklahoma}}
Range
Historically, Gregory's wolf ranged throughout the Mississippi River basin and extended northward to Warsaw, Illinois and Wabash, Indiana. They were also found in western Kentucky and western Tennessee, and roamed the Ozark Mountain region throughout southern Missouri and southeastern Oklahoma. They could be found in most of Arkansas, apart from the northwestern region. Gregory's wolves reached the lower terrains of Louisiana and extended westward towards eastern Texas.
References
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
{{cite web|url=http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2018/search/scientific/genus/canis/species/lupus/infraspecies/gregoryi/fossil/1/match/1|title=Canis lupus gregoryi Audubon and Bachman, 1851|editor1=Roskov Y. |editor2=Abucay L. |editor3=Orrell T. |editor4=Nicolson D. |editor5=Bailly N. |editor6=Kirk P.M. |editor7=Bourgoin T. |editor8=DeWalt R.E. |editor9=Decock W. |editor10=De Wever A. |editor11=Nieukerken E. van |editor12=Zarucchi J. |editor13=Penev, L. |display-editors=3 |date=May 2018|website=Catalogue of Life 2018 Checklist|publisher=Catalogue of Life|access-date=8 June 2018}}
}}
{{Canidae extinct nav|W.}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2118426}}
Category:Extinct animals of the United States