Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Dire wolf

Dire wolf

 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page. 

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/July 17, 2017 by - Dank (push to talk) 00:28, 14 June 2017 (UTC)



The dire wolf (Canis dirus, "fearsome dog") is an extinct species of the genus Canis. It is one of the most famous prehistoric carnivores in North America along with its extinct competitor, the sabre-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis. The dire wolf lived in the Americas during the Late Pleistocene epoch (125,000–10,000 years ago). The species probably descended from Armbruster's wolf (Canis armbrusteri) and evolved from it in North America. The dire wolf was about the same size as the largest modern gray wolves (Canis lupus), which are the Yukon wolf and the Northwestern wolf. Its skull and dentition matched those of the gray wolf, but its teeth were larger with greater shearing ability and its bite force at the canine tooth was the strongest of any known Canis species. These characteristics are thought to be adaptations for preying on Late Pleistocene megaherbivores, and in North America its prey are known to have included horses, sloths, mastodons, bison, and camels. The latest dire wolf remains have been dated to 9,440 years ago.
 * Most recent similar article(s): Unknown
 * Main editors: William Harris
 * Promoted: 29 May 2017
 * Reasons for nomination: My first FA to appear at TFA, and has 30 equivalent articles on other language versions of Wikipedia
 * Support as nominator. William Harris •   (talk) •  12:33, 1 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Support - broad appeal, educational. prehistoric mammals grossly underrepresented compared to dinosaurs. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 14:42, 1 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Support - last similar article was Smilodon in early January, so it certainly isn't too soon. You'd almost want to have this TFA coincide with the next Game of Thrones season premiere (July 16)... FunkMonk (talk) 14:50, 1 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Brilliant - The seventh season of GOT will premiere on July 16, 2017 according to the media. Regards, William Harris •   (talk) •  22:03, 1 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Agree - Funkmonk this was a very cool idea....in fact maybe....Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 11:02, 3 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Only problem with that is that Project Y is listed at potential future requests for that date, since it has an anniversary there. So I guess it would come down to votes or something? If the nominator remembers to list that article here, of course. One could also argue that July is already oversaturated by world war 1/2 nominations... FunkMonk (talk) 11:06, 3 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Hello FunkMonk, the 15th of July, or any July date before then, should be fine given the degree of pre-release advertising we can expect. I assume somebody reads this nomination and schedules it or am I to do something? Regards, William Harris •   (talk) •  22:05, 3 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Generally it would have to be nominated under "Specific date nominations", but I'm not really a frequent visitor to these TFA pages, so I'm not sure how much discussion here counts... FunkMonk (talk) 10:37, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Thanks, I have relocated the nomination to here for the 15 July. I assume someone takes it from here. Regards, William Harris •   (talk) •  10:54, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Nice, I think you can go directly for July 16, since the other article hasn't even been listed yet anyway. FunkMonk (talk) 10:55, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Cas, could you advise me please? Does someone come along and make a scheduling assessment and implementation or do I need to enter this on some other listing? Regards, William Harris •   (talk) •  11:03, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Nah, just wait for one of the coordinators to make a comment. Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 11:08, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Many thanks. This is my first time and I am not sure what is a manual and what is an automated process. Regards, William Harris •   (talk) •  11:11, 5 June 2017 (UTC)

Comment. But this article doesn't even have a section on "popular clulture" or make any mention of GOT. On its own, it has no relevance to 16 July. EyeTruth (talk) 15:50, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * It is a subtle nod, yes, but I think that's kind of cool. We wouldn't want to be overly promotional of the show either. FunkMonk (talk) 16:51, 5 June 2017 (UTC)
 * We do not want to be on the wrong side of WP:NOTADVERTISING. The intention is that the media promotion for GOT will highlight interest in the Wikipedia article. I have heard from "the young people" that the dire wolves are to make a comeback this season. Regards, William Harris •   (talk) •  09:23, 6 June 2017 (UTC)


 * Support. July is a good choice for the GoT connection, but I think it could be flexible for the specific dates if there are conflicts with other articles that have more precise connections. GoT will produce interest in the subject for more than one day. --RL0919 (talk) 18:52, 9 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Comment: The TFAP entry for the 16th has a strong date connection: the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. If we run Dire wolf on the 17th, that means it will be on the Main Page at the time that GOT is premiering in North America. Does that work for everyone? - Dank (push to talk) 00:16, 11 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Seems people expressed they were fine with that earlier (July 15 was proposed as well). FunkMonk (talk) 08:13, 12 June 2017 (UTC)