Falklands Wolf First Appeared in North America, Researchers Say

The New York Times ^ | 04 Nov 2009 | Henry Fountain

[BGHater]

The Falklands wolf has puzzled evolutionary biologists since Charles Darwin first encountered it during the voyage of the Beagle in the 1830s. It was the only native land mammal on the Falkland Islands, which are 300 miles off the coast of Argentina. No one knew how it got there or what mainland animals it was descended from — and it did not help that the wolf was hunted to extinction by 1876.

But using genetic analysis, Graham J. Slater, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues have solved some of the mystery. The closest living relative of the Falklands wolf, they write in Current Biology, is a South American species, but the two diverged in North America.

The researchers obtained snippets of DNA from five museum specimens, looked at variations among the samples and compared them with DNA from living species. They were able to build a family tree and a timeline of when the various branches diverged.

Earlier studies of the Falklands wolf had suggested it was related to foxes, but the DNA work showed the closest living relative to be another South American canid, the maned wolf.

Dr. Slater said the research showed that the maned wolf and the Falklands wolf last had a common ancestor six million years ago. “But canids didn’t show up in South America until two and a half million years ago,” he said, after the isthmus of Panama was formed.

An illustration of the Falklands wolf from The Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, which was published in the late 1830s.

[BGHater]

‘the most recent common ancestor of the five samples studied lived at least 70,000 years ago, long before humans arrived. Instead, he said, the wolves must have floated over on vegetation or ice floes.’

Lol. Floats and ice floes ping.

[blam]

Maybe Homo Erectus humans took them there by boat, eh?

[BGHater]

I would believe that instead of the doggie paddle or the vegetation frogger.

[DogBarkTree]

How deep is the water between the Falklands and the mainland? Since ocean water levels were hundreds of feet lower maybe they walked over during an ice age.

[OldNavyVet]

the Falklands wolf last had a common ancestor six million years ago. “But canids didn’t show up in South America until two and a half million years ago,” he said, after the isthmus of Panama was formed."

That time-distance fits in with geological information from Steve Jones' book "Darwin's Ghost"; where on page 196, Jones writes ...

"Fifteen million years ago, life on Earth was much as it is today, but fifteen million years hence, because of the imperceptible creep of coastal California along the San Andreas fault, the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles will run directly into the San Francisco Bay Bridge as the City of Angels migrates northwards."

[Bubba Ho-Tep]

They are definitely on the South American continental shelf.

[DuncanWaring]

I was wondering that myself; the ocean is definitely shallower between the islands and the mainland, but I can’t find any specific info on the exact max depth in that channel.

[Bringbackthedraft]

Nahhh, it just jumped the Ark.

[kenavi]

"...fifteen million years hence, because of the imperceptible creep of coastal California along the San Andreas fault, the Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles will run directly into the San Francisco Bay Bridge as the City of Angels migrates northwards."

So that means that the Raiders will once again represent L.A.?

[staytrue]

Dr. Slater said the research showed that the maned wolf and the Falklands wolf last had a common ancestor six million years ago. “But canids didn’t show up in South America until two and a half million years ago,” he said, after the isthmus of Panama was formed.

Ok, how about this. 6 million years ago, common ancestor wolf was in North America, migrated south to South American and the Falklands and then evolved into the present day Falklands wolf. Then two and half million years ago, the NA common ancestor evolved into the present day SA canids and came down and eliminated the common ancestor except for the falkland wolf that was protected by the sea.

Problem solved.

[OldNavyVet]

Over my dead body.

[blam]

"How deep is the water between the Falklands and the mainland? Since ocean water levels were hundreds of feet lower maybe they walked over during an ice age"

Take a look. Here's a map of the whole earth with the oceans water reduced by about 310 feet.

[DuncanWaring]

Hmmmmm ... looks like some swimming would still be involved.

Or, during an exceptionally cold winter, it might form an ice bridge.

[SunkenCiv]

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[SunkenCiv]

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[wolfcreek]

Wolves? You had to drag me into it!

LOLOL!