How many species of wolves are recognized today?

There are two widely recognized species of wolves in the world, the red and the gray. However, there is debate over how many species of wolf exist and if there are different subspecies of the gray wolf.

Additionally, there is a little-known canid, which lives in the Ethiopian highlands called 'Canis simensis' that is thought to be a very close relative of the wolf.

Wolves are the largest members of the canid family. This is the species from which pet dogs were domesticated. Wolves were once the most widely distributed, wild terrestrial mammals. They inhabited most of the available land in the northern hemisphere.

More Info: www.wolf.org

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19 Comments

John Moore

There are three species of wolf - the red, the grey and the Ethiopian wolf. There are also 40 sub species of wolf. The options available need changed

Derek Paterson

3 species and about 40 subspecies.

Georgia Kemp

All other animals called wolves are NOT wolves - maned wolf has no other species in its group and the ethiopian wolf resembles a coyote. The Mexican wolf is a subspecies of gray wolf. Dogs are not wolves.

Glynis Rix

Seems to be a very faulty explaination!

Player

Angel Palacios Zea, second paragraph explains that

Player

John Moore, read the second paragraph.

Pat Wells

Wikipedia says between 2 and 6 with some disagreement among experts.

Angel Palacios Zea

And the ethiopian wolf?

Keith Richard Mears

Steve Tingle, The maned wolf is not a true wolf, it is a different species, it is the only member of the genus chrysocyon, true wolves are of the genus canidae.

jcerta

What about the Wolves of Wallstreet?

Mic Fenst

LunaAtlas, It's Carol. Report the error and hopefully this question will be made correct or deleted.

Steve Tingle

There is also the Maned wolf of South America, not related to the Northern Hemisphere wolves but a canid all the same, so there are 4 because the question just asks for wolves not members of the Canis genus. I think you may find that the widest spread wolf is Canis lupus familiaris, though they are hardly wild!

lls

LunaAtlas, I thought that, as well!

Jorge Trejos

here are three species of wolves: Five subspecies of gray wolf are recognized and are distinguished primarily on the basis of their current and/or former geographic distribution.