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I was wondering what all of you guys thought regaurding ''werewolf evolution''.Say we take it as werewolves are genetic(from birth).

Examples :
werewolves were here first,and humans are werewolves that 'lost the ability' to shapeshift.
OR
Humans were here first and 'evolved' the ability(through genetic mutations) to become wolves.
OR
They evolved at the same time(symbiotic evolution) and just were close enough to be a ''mimic'' of each other(one able to change,one not)

That would depend on a few things.

Modern Werewolves could fit the "Symbiotic" version, since both genesets would be evolving.
Originally? I would tend to support the "Branching Out" theory. Homo Sapiens var. Simiens came first, then at some point diverged into Homo Sapiens var. Simiens and Homo Sapiens var. Lupens.

This would apply in any case other than the "Magical Curse" theory of Werewolves, since (according to most fiction) they can sucessfully interbreed with Sapiens stock and produce viable offspring; even if there is a "Lupenizing" effect on the non-Wolf parent.

There's also this theory or old myth I heard somewhere that a man was gifted the change by the Moon goddess, she granted the hunter fur and many senses of the wolf but thats just what i have heard i go along with the theory we just lost a part of us that made us wolves

I once toyed around with the idea of writing it that lycanthropy is present in many but only active in few, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like that would only be suitable as a cliffhanger at the end of a horror movie.

I'm also not a big fan of the "werewolves as a separate species" motif either. The problem with that would be justifying how werewolves managed to survive the inquisitions, the witch trials, the ethnic cleansings, etc. The only way I could envision werewolves having survived as a race for so many centuries with such a negative stigma attached to them would be if they could pass on their lycanthropy to others, IE: the original werewolves are all dead and the present-day population was either turned or descended from a werewolf who was turned.

To me, that would have to indicate that the werewolves were never their own separate species to begin with and that it began with an infection.

The only way I could see lycanthropy having predated humans would be if it originally evolved in the ancestors of wolves who later infected modern humans with it.

Another thing I toyed around with when trying to explain how/why werewolves shapeshift was to say that the virus is only programmed to repair the body by reading its DNA, but is not sophisticated enough to recognize that it is in a human host instead of a wolf and occasionally tries to "correct" the human form into that of a wolf. I rejected that idea eventually too, but assuming lycanthropy is a virus, it could have started as a wolf virus which later evolved and adapted to human hosts.

Not that I'd ever write that far back, of course. The reason the werewolves in both of my settings are so clueless into their own nature is because every werewolf pack predating their own has been virtually erased from history. Discovering the origin of lycanthropy now would be virtually impossible.

I agree with RedEye. Though, even if werewolves are a separate, albeit parallel, species there are still ways for them to bite and 'turn' humans.

There is a parasitical creature, I forget exactly what but I think it's a worm, that can influence the brain of it's host. It causes ants to climb to the tips of grass where they're more likely to be eaten, can make mice lose their innate fear of cats, and even cause the host to up and swan dive into a body of water (the parasite is aquatic for part of it's life cycle). Now, if they can do that, it's perfectly possible that by biting a human a werewolf could change the way they think, possibly causing them to do something like wander out into the woods at night, or to avoid danger and thus increase survivability. There is also precedent for things that can hijack cells and repurpose them. Combine the two for greater effect.
As an example, say someone gets bit by a werewolf: Over the next few days they become increasingly phobic of 'hunters', or 'police'. During that time, some of the cells in their body are getting hijacked to instead start producing werewolf DNA or whatever. Even if that person doesn't turn into a werewolf themselves, future offspring would likely be werewolves. The species is saved, possibly by the same person who thought they had killed the last of the werewolves.
Now, I'm not a scientist, doctor, or lawyer, but with some good writing that sounds like it could be a feasible idea for a story. Just as, if not more, feasible than a magical blessing granted by the moon goddess.

And really, the way one person tells it doesn't necessarily exclude all other versions. One man's retrovirus is another man's divine gift. I'm actually disappointed about how many stories take either "scientific" or "magical", draw a big line in between the two, and never cross that line.

Wingman wrote:I agree with RedEye. Though, even if werewolves are a separate, albeit parallel, species there are still ways for them to bite and 'turn' humans.

There is a parasitical creature, I forget exactly what but I think it's a worm, that can influence the brain of it's host. It causes ants to climb to the tips of grass where they're more likely to be eaten, can make mice lose their innate fear of cats, and even cause the host to up and swan dive into a body of water (the parasite is aquatic for part of it's life cycle).

I forget what the first one is, but the middle one is Toxoplasmosis.

There is also the common and popular "Viroid" postulation of how a Werewolf gets his fuzz on.
It can be spread by biting, clawing, s*x, and transfusion. We're talking bodily fluids as the vector in this case.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a paraiste, though; it can be a symbiote as well.

we had to evolve at the same time because if the werewolf came first human would have to lose every instinct to and if human came first they would have all evolved :femshft