Basic info Taxonomic history Classification Included Taxa
Morphology Ecology and taphonomy External Literature Search Age range and collections

Vulpes vulpes (red fox)

Mammalia - Carnivora - Canidae

Taxonomy
Canis vulpes was named by Linnaeus (1758). It is extant.

It was recombined as Vulpes vulpes by Thomas (1911), Churcher (1959), Kurten (1968), van Gelder (1978), Kurten and Anderson (1980), Wilson and Reeder (1993), Wang et al. (2008), Geraads (2011) and Koufos (2022).

Subspecies
V. macroura
Sister species lacking formal opinion data
V. donnezani

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1758Canis alopex Linnaeus p. 40
1758Canis vulpes Linnaeus p. 40
1829Vulpes fulva Desmarest
1835Canis vulpes montana Pearson p. 324
1900Vulpes cascadensis Merriam p. 665 fig. 3
1911Vulpes vulpes Thomas p. 134
1917Vulpes palmaria Hay
1959Vulpes vulpes Churcher
1967Vulpes fulva Wilson p. 211
1968Vulpes vulpes Kurten p. 115
1978Vulpes vulpes van Gelder
1980Vulpes vulpes Kurten and Anderson p. 174
1993Vulpes vulpes Wilson and Reeder
2008Vulpes vulpes Wang et al.
2011Vulpes vulpes Geraads
2022Vulpes vulpes Koufos

Is something missing? Join the Paleobiology Database and enter the data

RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
—Bilateria
—EubilateriaAx 1987
—Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
—Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
—Tetrapoda
—Reptiliomorpha
—Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
—Cotylosauria()
—Amniota
subclassSynapsida
—Therapsida()
infraorderCynodontia()
—Mammaliamorpha
RankNameAuthor
—Mammaliaformes
classMammalia
—Theriamorpha(Rowe 1993)
—Theriiformes()
—Trechnotheria
—Cladotheria
—Zatheria
subclassTribosphenida()
subclassTheria
—Eutheria()
—Placentalia
—Boreoeutheria
—Laurasiatheria
—Scrotifera
—Ferae()
—CarnivoramorphaWyss and Flynn 1993
—CarnivoraformesFlynn et al.
orderCarnivora
familyCanidae
genusVulpesFrisch 1775
speciesvulpes()

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus 1758 [red fox]
show all | hide all
Invalid names: Canis alopex Linnaeus 1758 [synonym], Canis vulpes montana Pearson 1835 [synonym], Vulpes fulva Desmarest 1829 [synonym], Vulpes palmaria Hay 1917 [synonym], Vulpes vulpes cascadensis Merriam 1900 [replaced]
Diagnosis
No diagnoses are available
Measurements
partNmean

Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialsubc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: ground dwellingg
Diet: carnivoreg
Diet 2: omnivoreg
Reproduction: viviparoussubc
Created: 2009-01-04 14:18:39
Modified: 2011-04-24 21:13:05
Source: g = genus, subc = subclass, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Lillegraven 1979, Van Valkenburgh 1988, Hendy et al. 2009, Carroll 1988, Ji et al. 2002

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Villanyian to the top of the Holocene or 3.20000 to 0.00000 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 2.588 Ma

Collections (96 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Villanyian3.2 - 2.588Hungary (Barany) Vulpes vulpes (35369)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781France (Alpes Maritimes) Vulpes vulpes (50342)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Hungary (Barany) Vulpes vulpes (35442)
Early/Lower Pleistocene2.588 - 0.781Germany (Thüringen) Vulpes vulpes (45065 45085)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Italy (Verona) Vulpes vulpes (43656)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117USA (West Virginia) Vulpes vulpes (125941)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Italy (Puglia) Vulpes vulpes (44091)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Saudi Arabia Vulpes vulpes (48858)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117United Kingdom (England) Canis vulpes (77749)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Israel Vulpes vulpes (225664)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117Morocco Vulpes vulpes (22489)
Pleistocene2.588 - 0.0117United Kingdom (Wales) Vulpes vulpes (34940)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0Morocco Vulpes vulpes (21856 21857)
Pleistocene - Holocene2.588 - 0.0Libya Vulpes vulpes (21884)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (New Mexico) Vulpes vulpes (20505)
Irvingtonian1.8 - 0.3USA (Colorado) Vulpes sp. (20150 20477) Vulpes vulpes (20559)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Italy (Verona) Vulpes vulpes (43655 43664)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Morocco Vulpes vulpes (34287 42866)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Germany (Baden-Wuerttemberg) Vulpes vulpes (50259)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Hungary Vulpes vulpes (35045 35047)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Turkey (Central Anatolia) Vulpes vulpes (34368)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129China (Guizhou) Vulpes vulpes (51100)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129Italy (Trieste) Vulpes vulpes (43699 43701)
Middle Pleistocene0.774 - 0.129France (Provence) Vulpes vulpes (48889 48911)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene0.774 - 0.0117Italy (Trieste) Vulpes vulpes (43702)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene0.774 - 0.0117Greece (Lakonia) Vulpes vulpes (32059 32062 32082 32086)
Middle Pleistocene - Late/Upper Pleistocene0.774 - 0.0117France (Poitou-Charentes) Vulpes vulpes (43618)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117Russian Federation Vulpes vulpes (79548)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Wyoming) Vulpes vulpes (93181)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Israel Vulpes vulpes (225667)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Utah) Vulpes vulpes (93329)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Greece Vulpes vulpes (203847)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Hungary (Barany) Vulpes vulpes (197461)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (high glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Texas) Vulpes fulva (93103)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Utah) Vulpes vulpes (93330)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Greece (Peloponnesus) Vulpes vulpes (184245)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117Canada (Saskatchewan) Vulpes vulpes (20635)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117France (Poitou-Charentes) Vulpes vulpes (43619)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Spain (Valencia) Vulpes vulpes (221415)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Greece (Kilkis) Vulpes vulpes (207192)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Spain Vulpes vulpes (197938)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Portugal Vulpes vulpes (197768)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Greece (Dodecanese) Vulpes vulpes (182809)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Alaska) Vulpes vulpes (93339)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Greece (Ioannina) Vulpes vulpes (208561)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (California) Vulpes vulpes (225801)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Israel (Mount Carmel) Vulpes vulpes (11803)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Morocco Vulpes vulpes (230984)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117Canada (Alberta) Vulpes vulpes (20615)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Russian Federation (Respublika Saha (Jakutija)) Vulpes vulpes (48587)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117United Kingdom (England) Vulpes vulpes (93828)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (high glacial)0.129 - 0.0117Canada (Alberta) Vulpes vulpes (93528)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Italy (Vicenza) Vulpes vulpes (43689)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Japan (Aomori) Vulpes vulpes (101898 101899)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Idaho) Vulpes vulpes (20569)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Michigan) Vulpes fulva (200485)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Vulpes palmaria (34269 74292)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (Wyoming) Vulpes vulpes (93277)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (late glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Colorado) Vulpes vulpes (74953 74954)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117Norway Vulpes vulpes (227461)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (glacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (California) Vulpes cascadensis (155393)
Late/Upper Pleistocene0.129 - 0.0117USA (New Mexico) Vulpes fulva (93141) Vulpes macroura (93281)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Greece (Peloponnesus) Vulpes vulpes (184243)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0USA (Virginia) Vulpes vulpes (104035)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0Greece (Argolida) Vulpes vulpes (182709)
Late/Upper Pleistocene - Holocene0.129 - 0.0USA (Utah) Vulpes vulpes (93326)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Italy (Sicily) Vulpes vulpes (175523)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Bulgaria Canis vulpes (232847)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Alaska) Vulpes fulva (220460)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0USA (Montana) Vulpes vulpes (162133)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Northwest Territories) Vulpes vulpes (228921)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Nunavut) Vulpes vulpes (228919)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Ontario) Vulpes vulpes (221863)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Quebec) Vulpes vulpes (221970 224189)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Yukon) Vulpes vulpes (228443)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Canada (Newfoundland) Vulpes vulpes (228844)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Greece (Attica) Vulpes vulpes (183130)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0United Kingdom (Scotland) Vulpes vulpes (191169)
Holocene0.0117 - 0.0Russian Federation Vulpes vulpes (171637)