Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin

Abstract

We analysed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from two historical samples of eastern North American wolves: the last wolf reported to have been killed in northern New York State (ca. 1890s) and a wolf killed in Maine in the 1880s. These wolves represent eastern wolves, presently classified as the gray wolf (Canis lupus) subspecies Canis lupus lycaon, which were present well before the expansion of western coyotes (Canis latrans) into these regions. We show the absence of gray wolf mtDNA in these wolves. They both contain New World mtDNA, supporting previous findings of a North American evolution of the eastern timber wolf (originally classified as Canis lycaon) and red wolf (Canis rufus) independently of the gray wolf, which originated in Eurasia. The presence of a second wolf species in North America has important implications for the conservation and management of wolves. In the upper Great Lakes region, wolves of both species may exist in sympatry or interbreed with each other, which impacts the accuracy of estimates of numbers of wolves of each species within this geographic region. Furthermore, the historical distribution of the eastern timber wolf (C. lycaon), as revealed by these skin samples, has important implications for the reintroduction of wolves into the northeastern U.S. states, such as New York and Maine.