Evolution
Until recently, all wolves and dogs were believed to be part of the wolf-dog clade, meaning all domesticated dogs are derived from wolves. When the Himalayan lineage was studied, it became apparent these wolves shared no genetic markers with dogs. This indicates the Himalayan wolf played no role in the domestication of dogs. When the divergence of the Himalayan wolf occurred 800,000 years ago, the Himalayan region was going through major geologic and climatic upheaval.
The Indian subcontinent includes three diverse, distinct wolf lineages — Indian wolf, Tibetan wolf and Eurasian wolf. This fact makes the Indian region the likely cradle of modern wolf evolution.
Mitochondrial DNA analysis suggests the Himalayan wolf is distinct from the Tibetan wolf, and represents the most ancient wolf lineage ever recorded.
Read more about this topic: Himalayan Wolf
Famous quotes containing the word evolution:
“As a natural process, of the same character as the development of a tree from its seed, or of a fowl from its egg, evolution excludes creation and all other kinds of supernatural intervention.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)
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