| Foxes | |
|---|---|
| |
| A red fox in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Subfamily: | Caninae |
| Groups included | |
| Cladistically included but traditionally excluded taxa | |
|
All other species in Canini | |
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species belong to the monophyletic "true fox" group of genus Vulpes. Another 25 current or extinct species are sometimes called foxes – they are part of the paraphyletic group of the South American foxes or an outlying group, which consists of the bat-eared fox, gray fox, and island fox.[1]
Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica. The most common and widespread species of fox is the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) with about 47 recognized subspecies.[2] The global distribution of foxes, together with their widespread reputation for cunning, has contributed to their prominence in popular culture and folklore in many societies around the world. The hunting of foxes with packs of hounds, long an established pursuit in Europe, especially in the British Isles, was exported by European settlers to various parts of the New World.
- ^ Macdonald, David W.; Sillero-Zubiri, Claudio, eds. (2004). The biology and conservation of wild canids (Nachdr. d. Ausg. 2004. ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0198515562.
- ^ Lloyd, H.G. (1981). The red fox (2. impr. ed.). London: Batsford. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-7134-11904.