A Simple Chart Shows How Dogs Today Evolved From A Wolf

A Simple Chart Shows How Dogs Today Evolved From A Wolf

How did we get from wolves to dogs of all sizes? How do pugs and chihuahuas and pit bulls and English bulldogs and German shepherds and so forth all come from the big Grey Wolf? Evolution! We domesticated wolves by adopting cubs and feeding them and slowly changing their habits. Over generations, the wolves changed and created a new species which we humans selectively bred (over-bred, probably) to exaggerate certain traits to perform certain tasks.

Dog breeds have gotten so different that they have three types of skulls. A dolichocephalic skull, which is common in dogs bred to hunt and sniff, a mesocephalic skull, that’s the most common and a brachycephalic skull, the flat one.

In the infographic below, which was spotted by Co.Design and made by artist Alice Bouchardon, you can see how different breeds of dog branch off from the wolf (it’s a very simple take on it).

A Simple Chart Shows How Dogs Today Evolved From A Wolf


The Cheapest NBN 50 Plans

It’s the most popular NBN speed in Australia for a reason. Here are the cheapest plans available.

At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.