Scientists confirm first Canadian fossil of Ice Age predator the dire wolf
Canada now has its first dire wolf.
For the first time, a Canadian fossil has been confirmed as coming from the Ice Age predator featured in the TV series “Game of Thrones.” The specimen, from near Medicine Hat in southern Alberta, was tentatively identified decades ago but a team from the Royal Ontario Museum used new technology to finally lock it down.
“It had never been fully described,” said evolutionary biologist Ashley Reynolds, lead author of the paper published in the Journal of Quaternary Science. “This had never been done for this specimen.”
It wasn’t easy. The entire specimen, between 25,000 and 50,000 years old, consists of one jaw, badly crushed, with some remaining teeth.