File:Urocyon_littoralis_(Island_fox)_FWS_001.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Species
Near ThreatenedObservations: Longevity has not been studied in detail in these animals. Nonetheless, one captive animal lived for 10.5 years (Richard Weigl 2005).
via IUCN
Wikidata facts
Show 9 more facts
- taxon rank
- species
- IUCN conservation status
- Near Threatened
- taxon name
- Urocyon littoralis
- Commons category
- Urocyon littoralis
- Commons gallery
- Urocyon littoralis
- taxon common name
- Nordamerikanischer Insel-Graufuchs
- endemic to
- California
- short name
- U. littoralis
- time period
- Holocene
Sources (2)
via Wikidata · CC0
~20 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is a small fox species that is endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. They evolved from their larger mainland gray fox ancestor (U. cinereoargenteus) and have diversified into six subspecies, each confined to its own island and all exhibiting insular dwarfism. Island foxes are generally docile, show little fear of humans, and are easily tamed. Island foxes have played an important role in the spiritual lives of native Channel Islanders. They were likely semi-domesticated as pets, for their pelts, or other functions, like pest control. Genetic and archaeological evidence suggests that the foxes arrived on the islands around 7,000 years ago, probably with the assistance of early human populations.
Taxonomy and evolution
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “island fox” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.