Canis lupus hodophilax ( Japanese 日本 狼 or ニ ホ ン オ オ カ ミ, Nihon Ōkami) is a subspecies of the common wolf ( Canis lupus ) that lived on the islands of Japan . The second subspecies that lived on these islands is called the Japanese wolf ( Canis lupus hattai ). Both subspecies are considered extinct.
| † Canis lupus hodophilax |
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| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Subtype : | † Canis lupus hodophilax |
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| International scientific name |
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Canis lupus hodophilax Temminck , 1839 |
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Canis lupus hodophilax lived on the islands of Honshu , Shikoku and Kyushu of the Japanese archipelago . It is believed that the subspecies became extinct due to rabies , which was first recorded on Kyushu and Shikoku in 1732, and due to extermination by people. The last known representative of the subspecies died in 1905 in Nara Prefecture .
Due to its small size (Canis lupus hodophilax is the smallest known subspecies of wolves), its isolation into a separate subspecies is disputed.
At the moment, it is known that there are eight skins and five effigies of Canis lupus hodophilax. One stuffed animal is located in the Netherlands , three in Japan, and the wolf, captured in 1905, is kept in the British Museum .
In the Japanese wolf dated to the XIV-XVIII centuries, geneticists determined the same mitochondrial haplotype branch as in the canidae from the Yanskaya site (S805), which lived 28 thousand years ago [1] .
In Japanese folklore, the wolf was endowed with positive qualities and presented itself as the protector and assistant of the poor and vulnerable, warned people about the impending natural disaster. For the Japanese, the wolf was not only an animal, but also possessed transcendental abilities, being the embodiment of the forest spirit, which was well tuned to people. However, if in response people did not show him respect, he too could be evil.
