Pleistocene Wolf Overview
Common Names: Pleistocene wolf, Late Pleistocene wolf, cave wolf
Scientific Classification:
Phylum: Chordata
Species: Canis lupus
Subspecies: C. l. spelaeus (cave wolf)
Common Names: Pleistocene wolf, Late Pleistocene wolf, cave wolf
Scientific Classification:
Phylum: Chordata
Species: Canis lupus
Subspecies: C. l. spelaeus (cave wolf)
Time Period: Late Pleistocene – early Holocene
Diet: Hypercarnivorous (primarily meat-eating)
Distribution:
Cave wolf: Western Europe
Don wolf (C. l. brevis): Eastern Europe (considered synonymous with cave wolf)
Key Notes
This is an original fossil mount, not a cast replica. That makes it particularly valuable and scientifically significant.
Cave wolves were a specialized Ice Age subspecies of gray wolves, adapted to hunting large Pleistocene megafauna.
The fossils show variation across Europe but generally indicate a large, robust wolf adapted to cold environments.
This is an original fossil mount, not a cast replica. That makes it particularly valuable and scientifically significant.
Cave wolves were a specialized Ice Age subspecies of gray wolves, adapted to hunting large Pleistocene megafauna.
The fossils show variation across Europe but generally indicate a large, robust wolf adapted to cold environments.