Canis Information & Canis Links at HealthHaven.com

Canis; Fossil range: Miocene (9.0 Ma) to recent [1]
	Gray Wolf, Canis lupus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia;
Phylum:	Chordata;
Class:	Mammalia;
Order:	Carnivora;
Family:	Canidae;
Subfamily:	Caninae;
Genus:	Canis; Linnaeus, 1758
Species
	Canis adustus; †Canis apolloniensis; †Canis armbrusteri; Canis aureus; †Canis cedazoensis; †Canis dirus; †Canis edwardii; Canis latrans; †Canis lepophagus; Canis lupus; Canis mesomelas; Canis rufus; Canis simensis; † C. lupus also includes dogs, C. l. familiaris and dingos, C. l. dingo

For other uses, see Canis (disambiguation).

Canis is a genus containing 7 to 10 extant species, including dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals, and many extinct species.

[edit] Wolves, dogs, and dingos

Wolves, dogs, and dingos are subspecies of Canis lupus. The original referent of the English word wolf, the Eurasian Grey Wolf, is called (Canis lupus lupus) to distinguish it from other wolf subspecies, such as The Iranian Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), The Arabian Wolf (Canis lupus arabs), or The Tibetan Wolf (Canis lupus chanco), which are probably more similar to the variety of wolf that was ancestral to the modern dog (Canis lupus familiaris).

Some other Canis taxa that were at one time considered subspecies of Canis lupus are also now considered separate canid species. These include the south Central Asia's Himalayan wolf (C. himalayensis) and Indian Wolf (C. indica); as well as the North America's Red wolf (C. rufus) and Eastern Wolf (C. lycaon).

The dingo (C. lupus dingo) from Australia, and the domestic dog (C. lupus familiaris) from which the dingo originated, are also subspecies of Canis Lupus, although they are not commonly called or thought of as wolves in English. ^[1]

[edit] Coyotes, Jackels, and "wolves"

Lupus is but one of many Canis species, most of which are now extinct and little known to the general public. One of these, however, the Dire Wolf, has gained fame for the thousands of specimines found and on display at the La Brea Tar Pits, in Los Angeles, California.

The Dire Wolf is an example of the word "wolf" being applied loosely, i.e.: to a canid which is not Canis Lupis. Other examples include Canis simensis which has undergone many name changes, as it's intermediate morphology had caused some to think of it as a jackel, but current taxonimic thinking is reflected in its official name, the Ethiopian Wolf.

Canis species too small to attract the word wolf are called Coyotes in the new world and Jackels in the old world. Although these may not be more closely related to each other than they are to Lupus, as fellow canis species, they are all closer to wolves and domestic dogs then they are to foxes, Maned Wolves, or other canids which do not belong to this genus. The word jackel is applied to three distinct canis species: Afica's Side-striped (C. adustus) and Black-backed jackels (C. mesomelas); and the Golden Jackel (C. aureus), which can be found across northern Africa, southwestern and south central Asia, and the Balkens.

While North America has only one small Canis species, the Coyote (C. latrans), but it has become very widespread indeed, moving into areas once occupied by wolves. They can be found across much of mainland Canada; in every state of the continental United States; all of Mexico except the Yucatan peninsula; and Pasific and central areas of Central America, reaching into northern Panama.

[edit] Etymology

The name Canis means "dog" in Latin. The word canine comes from the adjective form, caninus ("of the dog"), from which the term canine tooth is also derived.^[2] The canine family has very large canine teeth, used for killing their prey.