ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science

Dire wolf fossil found near Las Vegas provides first evidence of ice age wolves in Nevada

Tibi PuiubyTibi Puiu
December 18, 2012 - Updated on November 12, 2021
in Discoveries, Science
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

RelatedPosts

Carnivorous humpback dinosaur surprises paleontologists
Giant 160-million-year-old tadpole sheds new light on frog evolution
Ancient 420-million-year-old fossil hints of bony fish and cartilaginous fish common ancestor
Paleontologists did discover fossilized brain tissue in 520 million year old specimens
Reconstruction of Canis dirus (dire wolf) with two possible aspects according to its probable geographic origin: South-American or North American. Because there is some evidence to suggest that the Dire Wolf may have arisen from the northern Canis ambrusteri or a South American canid. (c) Wikimedia Commons

The Upper Las Vegas Wash region is sprawling with fossils from diverse geological eras be it the Cretaceous or the  Late Pleistocene. From the latter age, more precisely since the last ice age some 10,000 years ago, a dire wolf fossil was dated and identified. This is the first piece of evidence that the now extinct ice age wolf once roamed Nevada, which at the time was a spring-fed, swampy area.

UNLV geologist Josh Bonde uncovered a foot bone late last year near the proposed Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, a find that was just recently confirmed by Los Angeles paleontologists as belonging to a dire wolf.

“The Tule Springs area has turned up many species, but it’s exciting to fill in another part of the map for this animal and reveal a bit more about the ice age ecosystem in Southern Nevada,” Bonde said.

dire-wolf-leg-bone

The dire wolf, a much larger relative of the gray wolf, is believed to have been spread out across much of North America for more than a million years, before it became extinct once with the passing of the last ice age, some 10,000 years ago. The fossil in question has been estimated to be between 10,000 and 15,000 years old, according to the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History’s Xiaoming Wang, an expert on extinct species of the dog family.

“This discovery helps flesh out Southern Nevada’s Pleistocene ecosystem and shows that there are still important discoveries to be made in the Upper Las Vegas Wash,” said UNLV geology professor Steve Rowland, who collaborates with Bonde in studying southern Nevada ice age fossils. “To understand why certain species became extinct and others did not, we need to learn as much as possible about predatory habits and which species were especially sensitive to changes in the environment.”

The announcement comes on the heels of a recent discovery in the same wash of a saber-tooth cat by researchers from the San Bernardino County Museum. Like dire wolves, saber-tooth cats were Pleistocene predators that had been conspicuously absent from the Southern Nevada fossil record.

.

Tags: dire wolfgray wolfpaleontology

Share3TweetShare
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines. He has a B.Sc in mechanical engineering and an M.Sc in renewable energy systems.

Related Posts

Biology

Meet Mosura fentoni, the Bug-Eyed Cambrian Weirdo with Three Eyes and Gills in Its Tail

byMihai Andrei
1 month ago
Animals

But they’re not really dire wolves, are they?

byMihai Andrei
2 months ago
Biology

Giant 160-million-year-old tadpole sheds new light on frog evolution

byMihai Andrei
8 months ago
Animals

Balkanatolia: the forgotten ancient battleground where mammals fought for supremacy in Europe

byTibi Puiu
3 years ago

Recent news

AI-Based Method Restores Priceless Renaissance Art in Under 4 Hours Rather Than Months

June 13, 2025

Meet the Dragon Prince: The Closest Known Ancestor to T-Rex

June 13, 2025

Your Breathing Is Unique and Can Be Used to ID You Like a Fingerprint

June 13, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.