Japanese wolf

[ jap-uh-neez woolf, -nees ]

noun

, plural Jap·a·nese wolves [jap, -, uh, -neez , woolvz, -nees].

1. a wolf, Canis lupus hodophilax, one of two subspecies of gray wolf indigenous to the Japanese archipelago, but extinct since the early 20th century, resembling a Border collie in stature and believed to be the closest wild relative to the modern domestic dog. Compare Hokkaido wolf ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of Japanese wolf¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

These are “exciting results,” says evolutionary biologist Yohey Terai at Japan’s Graduate University for Advanced Studies, whose work previously identified an extinct Japanese wolf as the closest relative of modern dogs yet found.

From Science Magazine

This creature of folklore may be based on the Japanese wolf, a border collie–size animal with short legs and stubby ears that lived in Japan for thousands of years until humans wiped it out in the early 20th century.

From Science Magazine

A genetic analysis of remains from a single Japanese wolf published earlier this year found it was closely related to a lineage of Siberian wolves, long thought extinct.

From Science Magazine

Later, those eastern dogs bred with western dogs, leaving only a dilute Japanese wolf signature in western dogs.

From Science Magazine

As for how Japanese wolf DNA influences modern dogs, Terai can only speculate.

From Science Magazine