dire wolf

[ dahyuhr woolf ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

an extinct canid species, Aenocyon dirus, with two recognized subspecies ( A. dirus dirus and A. dirus guildayi ), living in the Americas and eastern Asia during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene epochs: similar in size to the largest modern gray wolf ( Canis lupus ), but with larger, more powerful teeth suited for preying upon large prehistoric herbivores, such as mastodons, bison, camels, and horses.

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Word History and Origins

First recorded in 1910–15; translation of New Latin Canis dirus “dread dog,” species name coined by Joseph Leidy ( def ) (1858); designation Aenocyon dirus (from Greek ��ó��, “terrible” + Greek ��ý�ǲ�, “dog” [+ dirus ]) proposed (but not universally accepted) in 1918 to consolidate variously named species deemed separate from genus Canis ; 2021 DNA findings show the dire wolf to be highly distinct from extant wolflike canines and so the classification A. dirus is now accepted as appropriate

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Anyone weary of the fire hose of dire news from the White House might have found respite in an uplifting story emanating from Colossal Biosciences, a Dallas-based genetics startup, early this month: Colossal reported that it had successfully resurrected the dire wolf from its 12,000-year-long extinction.

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Colossal dismisses the professional questioning over whether it truly has resurrected the dire wolf from extinction as a distraction from its scientific goals and achievement.

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Instead, it has promoted its claim to have resurrected the dire wolf with unsparing razzmatazz.

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“The dire wolf is no longer extinct,” it trumpets on its website.

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Time posted two largely uncritical articles about the dire wolf project online on April 7, the day of the company announcement.

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dire straits direxit

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