The evolutionary history of wolves is not entirely clear, but there are several theories about their origins. Here are some of the key findings from the search results:

• Wolves likely arose from a population of small, early canids.
• Morphological and genetic evidence suggests that wolves evolved during the Pliocene and Early Pleistocene eras from the same lineage that also led to the coyote.
• The first gray wolves likely originated in Eurasia about a million years ago, then migrated to North America. For a time, they coexisted with dire wolves, a larger species that had evolved slightly earlier.
• Wolf ancestors began to develop in the Paleocene, about 60 million years ago. By the Miocene, about 20 million years ago, canines and felines had branched into two separate families. In one wolf ancestor, Tomarctus, the fifth toe on the hind leg became vestigial and is evidenced today by the dew claw on both wolves and dogs.
• Wolves arose in the middle of the great Ice Age about 1 million years ago from a lineage of smaller dog-like forms native to Eurasia. They spread to North America across the Bering land bridge early in the Ice Age when it was bared by falling sea levels, and renewed contact with the American population each time the bridge re-emerged.
• Many biologists believe that the wolf developed from primitive carnivores known as miacids, which ranged from gopher-sized to dog-sized animals and appeared in the Lower Tertiary about 52 million years ago.

In summary, wolves likely evolved from a population of small, early canids that developed in Eurasia and spread to North America. The exact lineage of wolves is not entirely clear, but they may have developed from primitive carnivores known as miacids.