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bioRxiv · 10.1101/320655

A new subspecies of gray wolf, recently extinct, from Sicily, Italy (Carnivora, Canidae)

Angelici, F. M.·Rossi, L.
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Abstract

A new endemic subspecies of gray wolf from the island of Sicily (Italy) is described. While usually considered extinct before 1940, theres some evidence it may have survived up to 1970. This wolf was widespread throughout the island and characterized by a smaller size and a paler coloration than the Apennine wolf (Canis lupus italicus) from Central-Southern Italy.\n\nThis subspecies is described from a mounted specimen (the holotype) including also a separate skull stored at the Museo di Storia Naturale La Specola, Universita di Firenze, Italy. The three paratypes are: a) a mounted specimen stored at the Museo Regionale Interdisciplinare di Terrasini in Terrasini (PA), Italy, b) a mounted specimen stored at the Museo di Zoologia Pietro Doderlein, Universita di Palermo, Palermo, Italy, c) a mounted specimen stored at the Museo Civico Baldassarre Romano in Termini Imerese (PA), Italy.\n\nThis new subspecies is described as Canis lupus cristaldii subsp. nov. We suggest Sicilian wolf as common name for this new taxon.

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Angelici, F. M., Rossi, L.. 2018-05-11. A new subspecies of gray wolf, recently extinct, from Sicily, Italy (Carnivora, Canidae). https://doi.org/10.1101/320655

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