Kit Fox

Kit Fox

Taxobox
name = Kit FoxMSW3 Wozencraft | id = 14000878]
status = LC
trend = down
status_system = iucn2.3
status_ref = IUCN2007 | assessors = Sillero-Zubiri, C. & Hoffmann, M. | year = 2004 | title = Vulpes macrotis | id = 41587 | downloaded = 2008-04-24]
image_width = 250px


regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Carnivora
familia = Canidae
genus = "Vulpes"
species = "V. macrotis"
binomial = "Vulpes macrotis"
binomial_authority = Merriam, 1888
synonyms =
*"arizonensis" Goldman, 1931
*"arsipus" Elliot, 1904
*"devius" Nelson and Goldman, 1909
*"muticus" Merriam, 1902
*"neomexicanus" Merriam, 1902
*"nevadensis" Goldman, 1931
*"tenuirostris" Nelson and Goldman, 1931
*"zinseri" Benson, 1938

The Kit Fox ("Vulpes macrotis") is a relatively common North American fox. Its range extends into northern Mexico. Some mammalogists classify it as conspecific with the Swift Fox "V. velox", but molecular systematics imply that the two species are distinct. It has a generally gray coat, with rusty tones, and a black tip to its tail. Unlike the Gray Fox it has no stripe along the length of its tail.

Hunting and eating habits

The Kit Fox is mostly a nocturnal animal but sometimes ventures out of its den during the day. The Kit Fox usually goes out to hunt shortly after sunset, mostly eating small animals like kangaroo rats, jackrabbits, insects, fish, and small birds. Different Kit Fox families can occupy the same hunting grounds, but do not generally go hunting at the same time.

Mating

Male and female Kit Foxes establish pairs during October and November. Pairs can change year to year. They mate from December to February, when they use larger family dens. Litters are born throughout March and April, usually containing 3 to 14 cubs (McGrew 1979).

ubspecies

The Kit Fox has no recognized subspecies, although some populations have been proposed as subspecies.

The San Joaquin Kit Fox ("Vulpes macrotis mutica") was formerly common in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Its 1990 population was estimated to be 7,000, and it is now considered endangered. On September 26 2007, Wildlands, Inc. announced the designation of the 684-acre Deadman Creek Conservation Bank, which is intended specifically to protect habitat of the San Joaquin Kit Fox. [http://www.enn.com/animals/article/23452 Kit Fox Gets Some Protection, In California] ]

The Desert Kit Fox ("Vulpes macrotis arsipus") lives in the Mojave Desert.

The Southern California Kit Fox ("Vulpes macrotis macrotis") was a population of kit foxes native to desert regions of Southern California which became extinct in 1903.

References

External links

*ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Vulpes_macrotis/ images and movies of the kit fox "(Vulpes macrotis)"]
* [http://www.vulpes.org/foxden/information/san-joaquin-kit-fox.htm San Joaquin Kit Fox]
* [http://www.conservationinstitute.org/pcn/pcn_kit_fox.htm San Joaquin Kit Fox]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Kit fox — Kit Kit, n. [See {Kitten}.] A kitten. [1913 Webster] {Kit fox} (Zo[ o]l.), a small burrowing fox ({Vulpes velox}), inhabiting the region of the Rocky Mountains. It is brownish gray, reddish on the breast and flanks, and white below. Called also… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • kit-fox — 1812, perhaps from a shortening of KITTEN (Cf. kitten), in reference to smallness …   Etymology dictionary

  • Kit fox — For other uses, see Kit (disambiguation). Kit fox[1] San Joaquin kit fox Conservation status …   Wikipedia

  • kit fox — noun 1. small grey fox of southwestern United States; may be a subspecies of Vulpes velox • Syn: ↑Vulpes macrotis • Hypernyms: ↑fox • Member Holonyms: ↑Vulpes, ↑genus Vulpes 2. small grey fox of the plains of western North America …   Useful english dictionary

  • kit fox — amerikinė stepinė lapė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Vulpes velox angl. kit fox; swift fox vok. Kit Fuchs rus. американский корсак pranc. renard véloce ryšiai: platesnis terminas – lapės …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • kit fox — noun Etymology: 4kit Date: 1805 1. a. swift fox b. a fox (Vulpes macrotis) of the southwestern United States and Mexico with exceptionally large ears and a black tip on the tail 2. the fur or pelt of a kit fox …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • kit fox — amerikinė didžiaausė lapė statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Vulpes macrotis angl. kit fox rus. американская лисица ryšiai: platesnis terminas – lapės …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

  • kit fox — noun a small nocturnal fox found in the south western US. [Vulpes macrotis.] Origin C19: prob. from kit2 (because of its small size) …   English new terms dictionary

  • kit fox — either of two small gray foxes, Vulpes macrotis and V. velox, found on plains and in open, sandy areas of western North America, commercially valuable for their fur. [1795 1805, Amer.; prob. special use of KIT3] * * * …   Universalium

  • kit-fox — …   Useful english dictionary

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