Eurasian wolf
| Eurasian Wolf | |
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| Subspecies: | C. l. lupus
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| Trinomial name | |
| Canis lupus lupus (Linnaeus, 1758)
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| File:Present distribution of wolf subspecies eur.JPG | |
| Eurasian wolf range | |
The Eurasian Wolf (Canis lupus lupus; also known as the "Common Wolf") is a subspecies of the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus). Originally spread over most of Eurasia, with a southern limit of the Himalayas, the Hindukush, the Koppet Dag, the Caucasus, the Black Sea and the Alps, and a northern limit between 60° and 70° northern latitude, it has been pushed back from most of Western Europe and Eastern China, surviving mostly in Central Asia.
Its wide distribution is partly due to taxonomical reasons; Several proposed subspecies (C.l. desertorum, C.l. campestris, C.l. chanco) have recently been merged into a single classification. The total Eurasian Wolf population is roughly estimated to be 100,000 individuals.
The Eurasian Wolf is almost identical in both aspect and behavior to the Great Plains Wolf of North America.
The Eurasian Wolf has been known to interbreed with the Tundra Wolf (Canis lupus albus) in Siberia, where the two subspecies' ranges meet.