Canis armbrusteri
(Armbruster's Wolf)

Name: Canis armbrusteri (Armbruster's Wolf)
Phonetic: Can-is arm-bruss-teh-ri (Arm-bruss-terz Wolf).
Named By: J. W. Gidley - 1913.
Classification: Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae, Canis.
Species: C. armbrusteri (type).
Type: Carnivore
Size: Average 1.5 meters long.
Known locations: Throughout the USA.
Time period: Calabrian to Ionian of the Pleistocene.
Fossil representation: Numerous individuals are known.

       Armbruster's Wolf is considered to be the direct ancestor to the more well-known dire wolf, as indicated by gradual changes in its bone structure that took on identifiable dire wolf features. Although it gave rise to the dire wolf, Armbruster's wolf lost ground to its larger descendent being steadily pushed towards the East coast, until the latest surviving members being known from Florida during the latter half of the Ionian stage.
       The overall morphology for Armbruster's wolf is quite similar to its descendent the dire wolf, save for the skull which is narrower. This may indicate that Armbruster's wolf had a smaller bite force. Another wolf, Canis falconeri (Falconer’s Wolf), is also considered to be closely related to Armbruster’s wolf.

Further reading
- Preliminary report on a recently discovered Pleistocene cave deposit near Cumberland, Maryland. - J. W. Gidley - 1913.
- Phylogenetic systematics of the North American fossil Caninae (Carnivora, Canidae) - Richard H. Tedford, Xiaoming Wang, Beryl E. Taylor - 2009.

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