skeleton of dire wolf (canis dirus). the dire wolf is an extinct carnivorous mammal of the genus canis, and was most common in north america and south america during the pleistocene. although it was closely related to the grey wolf. unlike the grey wolf, which is of eurasian origin, the dire wolf evolved on the north american continent, along with the coyote. the dire wolf co-existed with the grey wolf in north america for about 100,000 years. approximately 10,000 years ago, the dire wolf became