Iberian wolf

The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) is a subspecies of grey wolf that inhabits the forest and plains of northern Portugal and northwestern Spain.

As of 2005, it was recognized as a synonym of C. l. lupus by Mammal Species of the World. Although skull morphometrics, mtDNA, and microsatellite of Iberian wolves differ from other European wolves.

Taxonomy

The taxonomic reference Mammal Species of the World (2005) does not recognize Canis lupus signatus, however NCBI/Genbank does list it.

Features and adaptations

The Iberian wolf differs from the more common Eurasian wolf with its slighter frame, white marks on the upper lips, the dark marks on the tail and a pair of dark marks in its front legs that give it its subspecies name, signatus ("marked"). The subspecies differentiation may have developed at the end of the Pleistocene Ice Ages due to the isolation of the Iberian Peninsula when glacier barriers grew in the Pyrenees and eventually reached the Gulf of Biscay in the West and the Mediterranean in the East.