Vulpes vulpes

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Red Fox

Taxonomy

Subclass : Theria
Infraclass : Placentalia
Magnorder : Boreoeutheria
Superorder : Laurasiatheria
Order : Carnivora
Suborder : Caniformia
Infraorder : Canoidea
Family : Canidae
Genus : Vulpes

Species status

Living
Found in the wild
Listed in MSW3 2005

Authority citation

Linnaeus, C. 1758-01-01. Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm, 823 pp.

Original name as described

Canis Vulpes

Other common names

Silver Fox · Cross Fox

Type locality

Sweden.

Biogeographic realm

Nearctic · Palearctic

Country distribution

Morocco · Algeria · Tunisia · Libya · Egypt · Ireland · United Kingdom · Portugal · Spain · France · Luxembourg · Netherlands · Belgium · Germany · Denmark · Switzerland · Liechtenstein · Italy · Austria · Czech Republic · Poland · Slovakia · Hungary · Slovenia · Croatia · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Serbia · Kosovo · Albania · Montenegro · North Macedonia · Greece · Bulgaria · Romania · Moldova · Ukraine · Belarus · Lithuania · Latvia · Estonia · Norway · Sweden · Finland · Russia · Georgia · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Turkey · Syria · Lebanon · Israel · Palestine · Jordan · Saudi Arabia · Oman · Yemen · United Arab Emirates · Qatar · Iraq · Kuwait · Iran · Turkmenistan · Uzbekistan · Kazakhstan · Kyrgyzstan · Tajikistan · Afghanistan · Pakistan · Mongolia · China · North Korea · South Korea · Japan · India · Nepal · Bhutan · Bangladesh · Myanmar · Canada · Greenland · United States

Subregion distribution

USA(AL,AK,AZ,AR,CA,CO,CT,DE,DC,FL,GA,ID,IL,IN,IA,KS,KY,LA,ME,MD,MA,MI,MN,MS,MO,MT,NE,NV,NH,NJ,NM,NY,NC,ND,OH,OK,OR,PA,RI,SC,SD,TN,TX,UT,VT,VA,WA,WV,WI,WY)

Taxonomy notes

some publications have recognized two distinct species of red fox, V. vulpes from the Palearctic and northwestern Nearctic and V. fulva from the rest of the Nearctic; however, this arrangement leaves Palearctic V. vulpes paraphyletic, since some archaic clades of Palearctic red fox (from West Asia and North Africa primarily) are sister to the Eurasian + North American clades; the second North American species (fulva) is tentatively retained under V. vulpes here pending further studies investigating the position of the archaic Eurasian clades

Taxonomy notes citation

Statham, M. J., Murdoch, J., Janecka, J., Aubry, K. B., Edwards, C. J., Soulsbury, C. D., ... & Sacks, B. N. (2014). Range‐wide multilocus phylogeography of the red fox reveals ancient continental divergence, minimal genomic exchange and distinct demographic histories. Molecular Ecology, 23(19), 4813-4830. · Sacks, B. N., Lounsberry, Z. T., & Statham, M. J. (2018). Nuclear genetic analysis of the red fox across its trans-Pacific range. Journal of Heredity, 109(5), 573-584.

IUCN Red List status

Least Concern

Country distribution map

The map below provides a general overview. Most species inhabit only specific regions within countries. Hover over the highlighted regions to see the country name.

Names and synonyms

Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.

Please send any edits, corrections, or unfilled data (including full citations) to mammaldiversity [at] gmail [dot] com.