Kit fox
Kit fox | |
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San Joaquin kit fox sitting | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Family: | Canidae |
Genus: | Vulpes |
Species: | V. macrotis[1]
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Binomial name | |
Vulpes macrotis[1] Merriam, 1888
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Subspecies | |
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distribution | |
Synonyms[1] | |
The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of Vulpes occurring in North America and are among the smallest of the vulpines worldwide. It has also been called a North American counterpart of the fennec fox due to its large ears.[3]
Taxonomy
Some mammalogists classify it as conspecific with the
Subspecific designations for the species are not fully addressed. As many as eight subspecies have been recognized,[6] although further analyzes have not found support for any subspecies differentiation.[4] However, although there is a clear need for more subspecific clarification, most available data suggest that kit foxes in the San Joaquin Valley of California are likely to warrant a subspecific designation, V. m. mutica, due to geographical isolation, and that any other kit foxes may be included in a second subspecies, V. m. macrotis.[5][2]
Subspecies
The
Appearance
The kit fox is one of the smallest species of the family Canidae found in North America. It has large ears, between 71 and 95 mm (2.8 and 3.7 in), that help the fox dissipate heat and give it exceptional hearing (much like those of the fennec fox). This species exhibits little sexual dimorphism, with the male being slightly larger. The average species weight is between 1.6 and 2.7 kg (3.5 and 6.0 lb). The body length is 455 to 535 mm (17.9 to 21.1 in), with a long tail (about 40% of total length), adding another 260–323 mm (10.2–12.7 in).[11]
The color and texture of the coat vary geographically. In general, the dorsal color is grizzled or yellowish-gray. The grizzled appearance is the result of guard hairs that are typically black-tipped or with two black bands separated by a white band. The guard hairs are less than 50 mm long, and particularly prominent in the middle of the back. The soles of the legs are protected by stiff tufts of hair, a trait that improves traction on loose sandy surfaces as well as protection against extreme temperatures; muzzles and vibrissae are generally black to brown. The tail is bushy and gray, with a black tip,[12] and the caudal gland has a pronounced black spot.[6] Unlike the gray fox, it has no stripe along the length of its tail. Its color ranges from yellow to gray, and the back is usually darker than the majority of its coat; its belly and inner ears are usually lighter. It has distinct dark patches around the nose.[12] The ears are tan or gray on the back, turning to buff or orange at the base. The shoulders, the lower sides, the flanks, and the strip about 25 mm wide across the chest range in color from buffy to orange.[6]
Distribution and habitat
The northernmost part of its range is the arid interior of Oregon. Its eastern limit is southwestern Colorado. It can be found south through Nevada, Utah, southeastern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and into western Texas.[12]
Kit foxes inhabit arid and semi-arid regions encompassing
Behavior
Kit foxes are mostly nocturnal[13] and sometimes crepuscular;[12] they escape heat stress during the day by resting in underground dens.[3] Kit foxes normally forage on their own. Kit foxes are not exceptionally territorial, preferring to live in pairs or small groups of relatives.[12]
Dens are used during the year for daytime resting, escaping predators, avoiding extreme heat, preserving moisture, and carrying and rearing young.[14] Kit Foxes will dig their own dens, but they can also modify and use the burrows of badgers, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and kangaroo rats.[2] Dens are spread across the home range, and an individual fox usually uses more than 11 dens in a given year.[2] They normally rest in their dens during the day, but sometimes can emerge to bask and, when pups are young, to play.[3]
In comparison to many canids that pants only at the resonant frequency of the thorax, kit foxes pants at a rate proportional to the ambient temperature before the rate exceeds the resonant frequency. In doing so, kit foxes exercise the economics of water at the cost of energy.
Diet
Kit foxes are opportunistic
Mating and reproduction
The kit fox is a
Females are
Survival and mortality rates of kit foxes can vary significantly year to year. In captivity, they have lived 10 to 12 years;[19] while the average lifespan of a wild kit fox is 5.5 years.[12] One Californian study of 144 kit fox pups showed a 74% mortality rate in pups within the first year.[19]
References
- ^ OCLC 62265494.
- ^ . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 9781483263694.
- ^ JSTOR 1381942.
- ^ PMID 28564903.
- ^ S2CID 253961802.
- ^ "San Joaquin Kit fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica)". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Home Page. 2011-10-14. Archived from the original on 2011-10-15.
- ^ Kit fox Gets Some Protection, In California, Environmental News Network, September 27, 2007
- ^ "Urban Landscape Attributes and Intraguild Competition Affect San Joaquin Kit Fox Occupancy and Spatiotemporal Activity Nicole Anne Deatherage Department of Biology, California State University, Bakersfield" (PDF).
- ^ "San Joaquin Kit Fox | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2021-04-15.
- ISBN 0-19-851556-1.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Patton, Allen. "Vulpes macrotis (kit fox)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Kit Fox". Digital Desert. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
- ^ JSTOR 1933376.
- ^ ISBN 9780801874161.
- ^ "Desert Kit Fox". www.nps.gov. Joshua Tree National Park (U.S. National Park Service). Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ISSN 0022-2372.
- JSTOR 1376734.
- ^ a b Meaney, Carron A.; Reed-Eckert, Melissa; Beauvais, Gary P. (2006). Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis): A Technical Conservation Assessment (Report). United States: USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region. p. 44. Archived from the original on 2020-04-25. Retrieved 2020-11-09.