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Everyone’s Saying the Same Thing After Scientists 'Resurrect' the Dire Wolf
The revival of the once-extinct dire wolf species has everyone saying the same thing on social media. Namely, people are wondering which animals will be brought back to life next. The dodo? The dinosaurs? And many people see shades of Jurassic Park. "We’re Colossal Biosciences, the de-extinction ...
grey wolves
red wolves
Mexican wolves
dire wolves?
A species of wolf that died out some 12,500 years ago lives again as the “world’s first successfully de-extincted animal,” according to Dallas-based biotech company Colossal Biosciences.
Colossal scientists have created three dire wolf pups by using ancient DNA, cloning and gene-editing technology to alter the genes of a gray wolf, the prehistoric dire wolf’s closest living relative, the company announced Monday. The result is essentially a hybrid species similar in appearance to its extinct forerunner.
The dire wolf, Aenocyon dirus, which was the inspiration for the fearsome canine featured in the HBO TV series “Game of Thrones,” was a top predator that once roamed North America.
Dire wolves were larger in size than gray wolves and “had a slightly wider head, light thick fur and stronger jaw,” the company said. Colossal has been working toward resurrecting the mammoth, dodo and Tasmanian tiger since 2021, but the company had not previously publicized its work on dire wolves.
Right now, details of the non-peer-reviewed research are very limited. All the public has to go on are images and quotes provided by Colossal.
Jeremy Austin, Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, told ScienceAlert that all Colossal has done is create a genetically engineered gray wolf that looks like what the company thinks a dire wolf might have looked like. And even that is up for debate; canids are morphologically similar, making it hard to verify from fossil remains the exact appearance of an extinct member of the family.
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