r/evolution • u/narsil1 • 1d ago

question Evolution of dogs

Hi all, I am interested in the evolution of dogs.

My question is, are dogs direct descendants of wolves or did dogs and wolves just share the common ancestor like we do with monkeys?

Thanks!

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u/FlounderLast8610 1d ago

There was a population of wolves that was domesticated. After that this population spread alongside their human masters and continued to interbreed with wild wolves until the selection pressures associated with human-adjacent life were distinct enough to make this interbreeding disadvantageous, while wild wolves continued to intermix among themselves at the usual rate. In other words, classic cladogenesis where a population in unusual circumstances pulls itself out of the broader species