A.d.guildayi. The forelimbs were 14% longer than A.d.guildayi due to 10% longer humeri, 15% longer radii, and 15% longer metacarpals. The rear limbs were 10% longer than A.d.guildayi due to 10% longer femora and tibiae, and 15% longer metatarsals. A.d.dirus is comparable to the Yukon wolf in limb length. The largest A.d.dirus femur was found in Carroll Cave, Missouri, and measured . A.d.guildayi is estimated to have weighed on average , and A.d.dirus weighed on average with some specimens being larger, but these could not have exceeded due to skeletal limits. In comparison, the average weight of the Yukon wolf is for males and for females. Individual weights for Yukon wolves can vary from to , with one Yukon wolf weighing . These figures show the average dire wolf to be similar in size to the largest modern gray wolf. The remains of a complete male A. dirus are sometimes easy to identify compared to other Canis specimens because the baculum (penis bone) of the dire wolf is very different from that of all other living canids. Adaptation Ecological factors such as habitat type, climate, prey specialization, and predatory competition have been shown to greatly influence gray wolf craniodental plasticity, which is an adaptation of the cranium and teeth due to the influences of the environment. Similarly, the dire wolf was a hypercarnivore, with a skull and dentition adapted for hunting large and struggling prey; the shape of its skull and snout changed across time, and changes in the size of its body have been correlated with climate fluctuations. Paleoecology The last glacial period, commonly referred to as the "Ice Age", spanned 125,000–14,500YBP and was the most recent glacial period within the current ice age, which occurred during the last years of the Pleistocene era. The Ice Age reached its peak during the Last Glacial Maximum, when ice sheets began advancing from 33,000YBP and reached their maximum limits 26,500YBP. Deglaciation commenced in the Northern Hemisphere approximately 19,000YBP and in Antarctica approximately 14,500YBP, which is consistent with evidence that glacial meltwater was the primary source for an abrupt rise in sea level 14,500YBP. Access into northern North America was blocked by the Wisconsin glaciation. The fossil evidence from the Americas points to the extinction mainly of large animals, termed Pleistocene megafauna, near the end of the last glaciation. Coastal southern California from 60,000YBP to the end of the Last Glacial Maximum