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FierceJake754 at 00:33, 6 July 2016

2016-07-06T00:33:03Z

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{{Taxobox
| name = Steppe wolf
| image = Canis-lupus.jpg
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Carnivora]]
| familia = [[Canidae]]
| genus = ''[[Canis]]''
| species = ''[[Gray Wolf|C. lupus]]''
| subspecies = '''''C. l. campestris'''''
| synonyms=
* ''argunensis'' (Dybowski, 1922)<ref name="soviet" />
* ''bactrianus'' (Laptev, 1929)<ref name="ms3">{{MSW3 Wozencraft | pages = | id =14000747}}</ref>
* ''cubanenesis'' (Ognev, 1923)<ref name="ms3" />
* ''desertorum'' (Bogdanov, 1882)<ref name="ms3" />
| trinomial = ''Canis lupus campestris''
| trinomial_authority = [[Dwigubski]], 1804
}}

The '''steppe wolf''' (''Canis lupus campestris''), also known as '''Caspian Sea wolf''', is a [[Canis lupus subspecies|subspecies of grey wolf]] native to the [[Caspian sea|Caspian]] [[steppe]]s, the steppe regions of the [[Caucasus]], the lower [[Volga region]], southern [[Kazakhstan]] north to the middle of the [[Emba River|Emba]], the northern [[Urals]], and the steppe regions of the lower European part of the [[former Soviet Union]]. It may also occur in northern [[Afghanistan]] and [[Iran]] and occasionally the steppe regions of [[Romania]] and [[Hungary]].<ref name="soviet">''Mammals of the Soviet Union'' Vol.II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears), V.G Heptner and N.P Naumov editors, Science Publishers, Inc. USA. 1998. ISBN 1-886106-81-9</ref>

Rueness ''et al.'' (2014) showed that wolves in the [[Caucasus Mountains]] of the putative Caucasian subspecies, ''C. l. cubanensis'', are not genetically distinct enough to be considered a subspecies, but may represent a local [[Ecomorphology|ecomorph]] of ''C. l. lupus''.<ref name="kopaliani">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1093/jhered/esu014| pmid = 24622972| title = Gene Flow between Wolf and Shepherd Dog Populations in Georgia (Caucasus)| journal = Journal of Heredity| volume = 105| issue = 3| pages = 345| year = 2014| last1 = Kopaliani | first1 = N.| last2 = Shakarashvili | first2 = M.| last3 = Gurielidze | first3 = Z.| last4 = Qurkhuli | first4 = T.| last5 = Tarkhnishvili | first5 = D.}}</ref>

== Appearance ==
It is of average dimensions, weighing 35–40 kg (77–88 lbs), thus being somewhat smaller than the [[Eurasian wolf]] and its fur is sparser, coarser and shorter. The flanks are light grey, and the back is rusty grey or brownish with a strong admixture of black hairs. The guard hairs on the [[withers]] usually does not exceed 70–75 mm. The fur of steppe wolves in Middle Asia and Kazakhstan tends to have more reddish tones. The tail is poorly furred. The skull is 224–272 mm long and 128–152 mm wide.<ref name="soviet" />

Steppe wolves occasionally [[surplus killing|surplus kill]] [[Caspian seal]]s.<ref name="seals">Rumyantsev, V. D. and L. S. Khuraskin. 1978. New data on the mortality of the Caspian seal due to wolves. Page 187 in Congress of the All-Union Theriological Society, 2nd (P. A. Panteleev, et al. eds.). Nauka, Moscow, USSR. ZR 116(19):5669</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{wikispecies|Canis lupus campestris}}

[[Category:Animals described in 1804]]
[[Category:Subspecies of Canis lupus]]
[[Category:Fauna of Central Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:Mammals of Russia]]
[[Category:Megafauna of Eurasia]]

{{canid-stub}}

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Steppe wolf - Revision history

Moderator: 1 revision

FierceJake754 at 00:33, 6 July 2016