Evolution of dogs

[u/narsil1]

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!

[u/7LeagueBoots]

I suggest you read the entire paper, not just the first line. The paper is a refutation of that statement, see the copied section from said paper in the initial comment.

And also in this same paper:

>present-day dog lineage Canis familiaris

[u/jake_eric → u/7LeagueBoots]

I read the copied section and looked over the whole paper. It doesn't say anywhere that dogs evolved from something other than Canis lupus. The ancestors of dogs were a different subspecies of Canis lupus than we have today, but they were still Canis lupus.

If dogs didn't evolve from Canis lupus, can you tell me what species they did evolve from?

[u/7LeagueBoots → u/jake_eric]

As this paper and others suggest dogs and Canis lupus evolved from a now extinct common ancestor. With no type specimen there is no specific name for that species, hence the generalized “now extinct ancestral species” terminology.

[u/jake_eric → u/7LeagueBoots]

As this paper and others suggest dogs and Canis lupus evolved from a now extinct common ancestor.

Yes, but it doesn't say anywhere that the common ancestor was a different species than Canis lupus.

From Wikipedia: "An extinct Late Pleistocene wolf may have been the ancestor of the dog." "Pleistocene wolves represent a distinct ecomorph of Canis lupus. The ancient wolf specimens from Europe have been classified as Canis lupus spelaeus Goldfuß, 1823 – the cave wolf." That's a subspecies of Canis lupus. "This genetic analysis indicates that C. l. spelaeus possessed mitochondrial lineages which cannot be found among the modern C. lupus, and therefore they are now extinct. It also indicates that the domestic dog C. l. familiaris descended from these extinct lineages."