Content deleted Content added
Hemiauchenia (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Fix cite date error |
||
Line 26:
The '''red fox''' ('''''Vulpes vulpes''''') is the largest of the [[true fox]]es and one of the most widely distributed members of the order [[Carnivora]], being present across the entire [[Northern Hemisphere]] including most of [[North America]], [[Europe]] and [[Asia]], plus parts of [[North Africa]]. It is listed as [[least concern]] on the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name=IUCN/> Its range has increased alongside human expansion, having been [[Foxes in Australia|introduced to Australia]], where it is considered harmful to native mammals and bird populations. Due to its presence in Australia, it is included on the list of the "[[List of the world's 100 worst invasive species|world's 100 worst invasive species]]".<ref>{{cite web |title=100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species |url=http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=66&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN |publisher=Invasive Species Specialist Group |access-date=17 March 2011 |archive-date=16 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316113132/http://issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=66&fr=1&sts=&lang=EN |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The red fox originated in Eurasia during the [[Middle Pleistocene]] at least 400,000 years ago<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bartolini Lucenti |first=Saverio |last2=Madurell-Malapeira |first2=Joan |date=May 2020
Red foxes are usually found in pairs or small groups consisting of families, such as a [[mated pair]] and their young, or a male with several females having kinship ties. The young of the mated pair remain with their parents to assist in caring for new kits.<ref name="mammals-of-the-brit-isles">{{cite book |last1=Harris|first1=S. |last2=Yalden|first2=D. |name-list-style=amp |title=Mammals of the British Isles: Handbook |date=2008 |publisher=Mammal Society|location=Southampton|isbn=978-0906282656|edition=Fourth |pages=408–422}}</ref> The species primarily feeds on small rodents, though it may also target [[rabbit]]s, [[squirrel]]s, [[game bird]]s, [[reptile]]s, [[invertebrate]]s<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> and young [[ungulate]]s.<ref name="mammals-of-ussr"/> Fruit and vegetable matter is also eaten sometimes.<ref name="mammals-of-na">{{cite book|last1=Feldhamer|first1=G. |last2=Thompson|first2=B. |last3=Chapman|first3=J. |name-list-style=amp |title=Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation: Biology, Management and Economics |date=2003 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |isbn=9780801874161|pages=516–530 |edition=Second |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC}}</ref> Although the red fox tends to kill smaller predators, including other fox species, it is vulnerable to attack from larger predators, such as [[Wolf|wolves]], [[coyote]]s, [[golden jackal]]s, large predatory birds such as [[golden eagle]]s and [[Eurasian eagle owl]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Red Fox Predators |website=Wildlife Online |url=https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/red-fox-predators |access-date=27 May 2021 |archive-date=10 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220610135922/https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/article/red-fox-predators |url-status=live }}</ref> and medium- and large-sized [[Felidae|felids]].<ref name="Fedriani 1999">{{cite journal |author1=Fedriani, J. M. |author2=Palomares, F. |author3=Delibes, M. |name-list-style=amp |jstor=4222449 |year=1999 |title=Niche relations among three sympatric Mediterranean carnivores |journal=Oecologia |volume=121 |issue=1 |pages=138–148 |pmid=28307883 |doi=10.1007/s004420050915 |bibcode=1999Oecol.121..138F |citeseerx=10.1.1.587.7215|s2cid=39202154}}</ref>
Line 34:
==Terminology==
[[File:Red fox kits (40215161564).jpg|thumb|Juvenile red foxes are known as kits.]]
Males are called tods or dogs, females are called vixens, and young are known as cubs or kits.<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 April 2012|title=10 Fascinating Facts About Foxes (With Photos)|url=https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/10-fascinating-facts-about-foxes-with-photos/|access-date=20 January 2022|website=PETA UK
==Etymology==
Line 499:
===Dimensions===
Red foxes are the largest species of the genus ''Vulpes''.<ref name="z129">{{Harvnb|Sillero-Zubiri|Hoffman|MacDonald|2004|p=129}}</ref> However, relative to dimensions, red foxes are much lighter than similarly sized dogs of the genus ''[[Canis]]''. Their limb bones, for example, weigh 30 percent less per unit area of bone than expected for similarly sized dogs.<ref name="rwf1987">{{Cite book|title=Running with the Fox|last=Macdonald|first=David|publisher=Unwin Hyman, London |year=1987
===Fur===
| |||