Kit fox
Small North American fox with large ears, inhabiting arid regions.
Last updated
Worldwide, this fox is one of the smallest vulpine species, and its large ears have led to it being described as a North American equivalent of the fennec fox.[1]
Scientific classification
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumChordata
- InfraclassPlacentalia
- OrderCarnivora
- FamilyCanidae
- GenusVulpes
- SpeciesVulpes macrotis
Named by Merriam, 1888
Close relatives
Other species of Vulpes with a Codexery entry.
- Fennec fox Vulpes zerda
- Red fox Vulpes vulpes
- Swift fox Vulpes velox
- Arctic fox Vulpes lagopus
Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Kit fox (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Conservation status
Least Concern (LC)
- LC▲ this species
- NT
- VU
- EN
- CR
- EW
- EX
Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category
How big is it?
Largest length in the source, 0.1 m, next to a 1.8 m person.
Diagram: drawn by Codexery, schematic shapes to scale (not a likeness). Length: Wikipedia: Kit fox
Where the kit fox has been recorded
Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (2,443 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 257 inland records left out (institution coordinates).
Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain)
Key facts and history
The endangered San Joaquin kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica) was listed on March 3, 1967, and its 1990 population was estimated to be 7,000.[2] Kit foxes are mostly nocturnal and sometimes crepuscular, escaping heat stress during the day by resting in underground dens.[3] They are socially monogamous, with pairs mating for life, and gestation lasts probably around 49–56 days.[4][5] In North America, the kit fox ranks among the tiniest members of the Canidae family, with a typical mass falling between 1.6 and 2.7 kg.[6]
From head to body, this fox measures 455 to 535 mm; its tail adds 260–323 mm, and its prominent ears span 71 to 95 mm.[6] The upper side of the body appears grizzled or yellowish-gray, while the bushy gray tail ends in a black tip.[7] Although some mammalogists consider the kit fox and the swift fox to be the same species, evidence from molecular systematics shows they are separate.[8] Young foxes first leave the den when roughly one month old and reach independence between five and six months of age.[5]
What the cited sources add
The Animal Diversity Web account notes that kit foxes are the smallest member of the family Canidae in North America and that they have distinct dark patches on each side of the nose.[4] The same source reports that predation by coyotes accounts for over 75% of kit fox predation.[4] The Digital Desert account states that the San Joaquin kit fox is Federal Endangered and California Threatened.[9] The Animal Diversity Web account adds that kit foxes are listed as species of concern in some states, including Colorado and Utah.[4]
The Digital Desert account notes that kit foxes play important roles as "architects of subterranean burrows" that provide cover for many other species.[9]
References
- Wikipedia, "Kit fox" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sheldon, "Wild dogs: the natural history of the non-domestic Canidae", Academic Press, 1992, p. 176–182 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kit fox" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "San Joaquin Kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica)", U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Home Page, 2011-10-14; Kit Fox Gets Some Protection, In California, Environmental News Network, September 27, 2007 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kit fox" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Kit Fox", Digital Desert; Patton, "Vulpes macrotis (kit fox)", Animal Diversity Web; Sheldon, "Wild dogs: the natural history of the non-domestic Canidae", Academic Press, 1992, p. 176–182 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Patton, "Vulpes macrotis (kit fox)", Animal Diversity Web. facts only, no text reused. animaldiversity.org
- Wikipedia, "Kit fox" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: McGrew, "Vulpes macrotis", Mammalian Species, 8 June 1979, p. 1–6; Sheldon, "Wild dogs: the natural history of the non-domestic Canidae", Academic Press, 1992, p. 176–182 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kit fox" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sillero-Zubiri, "The biology and conservation of wild canids", Oxford University Press Oxford, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kit fox" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Patton, "Vulpes macrotis (kit fox)", Animal Diversity Web; McGrew, "Vulpes macrotis", Mammalian Species, 8 June 1979, p. 1–6 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Kit fox" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dragoo, "Evolutionary and Taxonomic Relationships among North American Arid-Land Foxes", Journal of Mammalogy, 28 August 1990, p. 318–332; Mercure, "Genetic Subdivisions among Small Canids: Mitochondrial DNA Differentiation of Swift, Kit, and Arctic Foxes", Evolution, 1993, p. 1313–1328; Sheldon, "Wild dogs: the natural history of the non-domestic Canidae", Academic Press, 1992, p. 176–182 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Kit Fox", Digital Desert. facts only, no text reused. digital-desert.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Kit fox (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Canids And Hyaenids
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Kit fox (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List assessment.
- Occurrence records: GBIF (CC0 / CC BY). Basemap: Natural Earth (public domain).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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