Vulpes
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Vulpes Temporal range: Miocene–recent |
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| Various true foxes: left to right, then top to bottom: red fox, Rüppell's fox, corsac fox, Bengal fox, Arctic fox, Blanford's fox, Cape fox, and fennec fox | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Synapsida |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Suborder: | Caniformia |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Tribe: | Vulpini |
| Genus: |
Vulpes Frisch, 1775 |
| Type species | |
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Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| Species | |
Vulpes is a genus of the Canidae. The members of this genus are colloquially referred to as true foxes, meaning they form a proper clade. The word "fox" occurs on the common names of species. True foxes are distinguished from members of the genus Canis, such as dogs, wolves, coyotes, and jackals, by their smaller size (5-11 kg) and flatter skulls. They have black, triangular markings between their eyes and noses, and the tips of their tails are often a different color from the rest of their pelts. The typical lifespan for this genus is between two and four years, but can reach up to a decade.
For animals commonly known as "foxes", but which are not true foxes, see Fox#Classification.
Within Vulpes, 12 separate and distinct extant species and four fossil species are described:
The Arctic fox is sometimes included in this genus as Vulpes lagopus based on the definitive mammal taxonomy list, as well as genetic evidence.
Foxes of this group (including the fennec and Arctic foxes) possess eyes with pupils that retract into vertical slits in bright light.
The red fox, Ruppell's fox, and Tibetan sand fox possess white-tipped tails. The Arctic fox's tail-tip is of the same color as the rest of the tail (white or blue-gray) Blanford's fox usually possesses a black-tipped tail, but a small number of specimens (2% in Israel, 24% in the United Arab Emirates) possess a light-tipped tail. The other foxes in this group (Bengal, Cape, corsac, fennec, kit, pale, and swift) all possess black-tipped or dark-tipped tails.
The oldest known fossil species within Vulpes is V. riffautae, dating back to the late Miocene of Chad, which is within the Neogene. The deposits where these fossils are found are about 7 million years old, which might make them the earliest Canidae in the Old World. They are estimated to have weighed between 1.5 and 3.5 lb. V. skinneri, from the Malapa fossil site from South Africa, is younger than V. riffautae by roughly 5 million years, and shows up in the early Pleistocene.
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