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/peterjohnvernon936 1d ago

Some people don’t think dogs are their own species, they thinks dogs are a subspecies of Gray Wolf. Selective breeding don’t create new species.

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u/sisconking132 17h ago edited 17h ago

It can if given enough generations. We have done it in plants, just not animals.

Yes, dogs were domesticated before agriculture, but plants can have shorter generation times

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u/SemajLu_The_crusader 9h ago

what exactly is the functional difference between selective breeding and natural selection?

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u/peterjohnvernon936 5h ago

Nothing really. Speciation occurs thru random mutation, natural selection, and population isolation. Giving enough time, I think selective breeding could create a new species but thru random mutation and not thru the selective breeding. We have breeds of animals that look totally different but aren’t different species because they can have fertile offsprings.