It has been hypothesized that dietary differences in bone consumption exist between the extinct Pleistocene dire wolf (Canis dirus) and the modern gray wolf (C. lupus). Here dental microwear texture analysis of the m2 is used to test the hypothesized dietary behavior of C. dirus. If the m2 does distinguish dietary tendencies and dire wolves were heavy bone consumers, then the microwear signals of C. dirus should be similar to extant duraphageous canids. Microwear texture analysis of C. dirus was compared with that of C. lupus, coyote (C. latrans), and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) to assess the degrees of bone consumption. An overall lack in statistically significant variables suggests little difference between the dietary tendencies between C. dirus and C. lupus. The dire wolf did not closely align with the duraphageous L. pictus, which calls into question the hypothesis of heavy carcass utilization during the Pleistocene.
","abstract_html":"<p>It has been hypothesized that dietary differences in bone consumption exist between the extinct Pleistocene dire wolf (<em>Canis dirus</em>) and the modern gray wolf (<em>C. lupus</em>). Here dental microwear texture analysis of the m2 is used to test the hypothesized dietary behavior of <em>C. dirus</em>. If the m2 does distinguish dietary tendencies and dire wolves were heavy bone consumers, then the microwear signals of <em>C. dirus</em> should be similar to extant duraphageous canids. Microwear texture analysis of <em>C. dirus</em> was compared with that of <em>C. lupus</em>, coyote (<em>C. latrans</em>), and African wild dog (<em>Lycaon pictus</em>) to assess the degrees of bone consumption. An overall lack in statistically significant variables suggests little difference between the dietary tendencies between <em>C. dirus</em> and <em>C. lupus</em>. The dire wolf did not closely align with the duraphageous <em>L. pictus</em>, which calls into question the hypothesis of heavy carcass utilization during the Pleistocene.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Schmitt, Elizabeth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MS (Master of Science)","degree_level":"Thesis - restricted","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:06Z","subjects":["microwear texture analysis","bone consumption","Canis dirus","canis lupus","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology","Evolution","Life Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1269","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Schmitt, Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["1990-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2011-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MS (Master of Science)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["microwear texture analysis","bone consumption","Canis dirus","canis lupus","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology","Evolution","Life Sciences"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright by the authors."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2460/viewcontent/SchmittE040611f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1269"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["It has been hypothesized that dietary differences in bone consumption exist between the extinct Pleistocene dire wolf (Canis dirus) and the modern gray wolf (C. lupus). Here dental microwear texture analysis of the m2 is used to test the hypothesized dietary behavior of C. dirus. If the m2 does distinguish dietary tendencies and dire wolves were heavy bone consumers, then the microwear signals of C. dirus should be similar to extant duraphageous canids. Microwear texture analysis of C. dirus was compared with that of C. lupus, coyote (C. latrans), and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) to assess the degrees of bone consumption. An overall lack in statistically significant variables suggests little difference between the dietary tendencies between C. dirus and C. lupus. The dire wolf did not closely align with the duraphageous L. pictus, which calls into question the hypothesis of heavy carcass utilization during the Pleistocene.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Analysis of Bone Crushing Behavior of the Dire Wolf (Canis dirus) Using Dental Microwear Texture Analysis."]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Schmitt, Elizabeth"],"dc:date.available":["1990-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2011-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["It has been hypothesized that dietary differences in bone consumption exist between the extinct Pleistocene dire wolf (Canis dirus) and the modern gray wolf (C. lupus). Here dental microwear texture analysis of the m2 is used to test the hypothesized dietary behavior of C. dirus. If the m2 does distinguish dietary tendencies and dire wolves were heavy bone consumers, then the microwear signals of C. dirus should be similar to extant duraphageous canids. Microwear texture analysis of C. dirus was compared with that of C. lupus, coyote (C. latrans), and African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) to assess the degrees of bone consumption. An overall lack in statistically significant variables suggests little difference between the dietary tendencies between C. dirus and C. lupus. The dire wolf did not closely align with the duraphageous L. pictus, which calls into question the hypothesis of heavy carcass utilization during the Pleistocene.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.etsu.edu/context/etd/article/2460/viewcontent/SchmittE040611f.pdf","https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1269"],"dc:rights":["Copyright by the authors."],"dc:subject":["microwear texture analysis","bone consumption","Canis dirus","canis lupus","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology","Evolution","Life Sciences"],"dc:title":["Analysis of Bone Crushing Behavior of the Dire Wolf (Canis dirus) Using Dental Microwear Texture Analysis."],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - restricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["MS (Master of Science)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:20:06Z"}