title: The geographical distribution of grey wolves (Canis lupus) in China: a systematic review.
abstract: The grey wolf (Canis lupus) is one of the most widely distributed terrestrial mammals, and its distribution and ecology in Europe and North America are largely well described. However, the distribution of grey wolf in southern China is still highly controversial. Several well-known western literatures stated that there are no grey wolves in southern China, while the presence of grey wolf across China has been indicated inA Guide to the Mammals of China, published by Princeton University Press. It is essential to solve this discrepancy since dogs may have originated from grey wolfs in southern China. Therefore, we systematically investigated Chinese literatures about wild animal surveys and identified more than 100 articles and books that included information of the distribution of grey wolves in China. We also surveyed the collections of three Chinese natural museums and found 26 grey wolf skins specimens collected across China. Moreover, we investigated the fossil records of wolf in China and identified 25 archaeological sites with wolf remains including south China. In conclusion, with the comprehensive summary of Chinese literatures, museum specimens and fossil records, we demonstrate that grey wolves does distribute across all parts of the Chinese mainland, including the most southern parts of China.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resources in Yunnan, Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Diversity and Evolution of High Education in Yunnan Province, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resources in Yunnan, Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Diversity and Evolution of High Education in Yunnan Province, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Qi-Jun
authors.initials: QJ
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilization of Bio-resources in Yunnan, Key Laboratory for Animal Genetic Diversity and Evolution of High Education in Yunnan Province, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China; State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China.
authors.forename: Ya-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Science for Life Laboratory, Department of Gene Technology, KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, Solna 17165, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Savolaimen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Yunnan Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology of Domestic Animals, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China. wanggd@mail.kiz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Guo-Dong
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D019596:Wolves
keywords: China; Conservation; Distribution; Grey wolf