There Colossal Biosciencesa US biotechnological company based in Dallas in Texas, said she “brought back to life” through the de-estination theenoconal. But what exactly is this creature? Scientifically classified as Aenocyon Diruswas a great canide lived during the Pleistocenean era between 2.6 million and 10 000 years ago. Also known as “terrible wolf“(From English DireWolf) or “Metalupo”, this predator, while presenting a certain similarity with the modern gray wolf, was characterized by a larger and more robust dentition and a more massive skull. Made famous thanks to the television series Games of Thrones (The throne of swords) in which they represented the symbol of the noble Stark house, were the carnivores which populated vast areas of the Americas by preaching herbivorous species.
What was enoconal: physical characteristics and evolutionary origin
THE’enoconaldescribed for the first time in 1850, was the largest canide of Late Pleistocene: weighed until 68 kghad a skull that reached 30 cm in length, teeth Suitable for breaking bones and feeds on large herbivores. The body dimensions were similar to gray wolves (Canis Lupus) bigger.
The evolutionary origins They are still uncertain. Despite a skeletal similarity with the current gray wolves, a study published on Nature of 2021 of Angela R. Perri entitled Say Wolves Were The Last of An Ancient New World Canid Lineage revealed a surprising Evolutionary distance from the gray wolves. For researchers, the similarity between metalpies and gray wolves is an example of convergent evolutionthat phenomenon in which different species develop similar adaptations separately because they lead a similar lifestyle.
Recently, the company Colossal Biosciences Analyzing a tooth of 13 000 years ago and a bone of the internal ear 72 000 years ago as part of the de-extinction project, he said he had obtained a much more complete genome than previous studies, suggesting that enoconal and gray wolf are closer evolutionary than you thought as they would share the 99.5% of the DNA. However, it is good to underline that this study has not yet been subjected to peer-review and the results have not yet been made public.
An interesting aspect of these research also concerns the hair color of metalpies. Perri’s study from 2021 had suggested one reddish coloring of the hair, based on the hypothesis that the gray-black fur in the North American wolves was a feature acquired through crossings with other canids, a process that enocono would not have experienced. However, the recent analysis of the genome by the biotechnological company led to the deduction by the researchers that these animals actually had one white fur or very clear. This discrepancy between the interpretations based on genetics and those on the evolutionary hypotheses of the cloak still leaves several questions open.
Because and when enocono has become extinct
THE’extinction eenocion may have occurred between 10 000 and 13 000 years ago during themass extinction of the Quaternary, whose causes are the subject of debate and could include climate change, extinction of his favorite prey And competition with other species or one combination of factors. The reconstruction of the dynamics of extinction is complex, the databases of the most recent enoconal fossils vary according to the site and the method, with calibrated estimates that reach up to about 11 400 years ago in North America and unpaid data up to approximately 9 000 years It does in South America, indicating an extinction that took place at the end of the Pleistocene.
The metalpie habitat
The “terrible wolves” were originally from the Americas, with fossils resold both on the Atlantic coasts and on those of the Pacific and in most of the central, southern and south-western regions. In particular, a Rancho The Brea Tar Pitsa paleontological research site in the Los Angeles area in California, was brought to light the larger collection of fossils of these animals, with thousands of finds. In this area numerous excavations have discovered remains of other mammals of the Pleistocene such as the mammoththe mastodon, the tiger with a saber and camel teeth. In South Americaon the other hand, metalpies fossils were found in Venezuela, Chile, Peru and Bolivia.
The distribution of the terrible wolf suggests that it populated and adapted to multiple habitatsfrom meadows, to open forests, to tropical wetlands. Being carnivoresthe enopioni, hunted great herbivores that populated these ecosystems such as horses, sloths, bisons and camels.
