Bernard's wolf

Bernard's wolf (Canis lupus bernardi), also known as the Banks Island wolf, the Banks Island tundra wolf, and the Victoria Island wolf,[2] is an extinct subspecies of the gray wolf that was limited to Banks and Victoria Island of the Arctic Archipelago. This wolf is recognized as a subspecies of Canis lupus in the taxonomic authority Mammal Species of the World (2005).[3] It went extinct around 1920.[4]

Canis lupus bernardi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species:
C. lupus
Subspecies:
C. l. bernardi
Trinomial name
Canis lupus bernardi
Anderson, 1943
Historical and present range of gray wolf subspecies in North America
Synonyms[1]
  • banksianus (Anderson, 1943)

The wolf was described as "white with black-tipped hair along the ridge of the back". It was formally discovered, classified, and named after Peter Bernard and Joseph F. Bernard, his nephew, after an adult male skin and skull was collected by them and brought to the National Museum of Canada.[4][5] There were very few specimens of this subspecies that were recovered, around three[6] or four[4] in total. A survey was conducted in March 1993 by the Department of Renewable Resources that was to catalog the wolf and caribou populations of the area. While a number of caribou were found and recorded, along with many other indigenous animal species, but not a single wolf was found. The Victoria Island population is believed to have died out in between 1918 and 1952.[7] They were previously widespread in their native habitat.

References
  1. Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 532–628. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. "Elsevier's dictionary of mammals: in Latin, English, German, French and Italian" - Google Books
  3. Wozencraft, W.C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 575–577. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494. url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JgAMbNSt8ikC&pg=PA576
  4. "The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals" - Google Books
  5. "Bernard, P. and J.", The Eponym Dictionary of Mammals by Bo Beolens, Michael Watkins and Michael Grayson, JHU Press, 2009, Pg. 40
  6. "Wolf Empire: An Intimate Portrait of a Species" - Google Books
  7. "Southern Banks Island Wolf and Caribou Survey" - Department of Renewable Resources


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