Culpeo

Open encyclopedia reference

The culpeo (Lycalopex culpaeus), also known as Culpeo zorro, Andean zorro, Andean fox, Paramo wolf, Andean wolf, and colpeo fox, is a species of South American fox. Despite the name, it is not in the Vulpes, but more closely related to wolves and jackals. Its appearance resembles that of foxes due to convergent evolution.

The culpeo's diet consists largely of rodents, rabbits, birds and lizards, and to a lesser extent, plant material and carrion. They may prey on Andean flamingos and baby vicuña. The culpeo sometimes attacks farm animals, among them sheep, goats and poultry; for this, it is hunted in rural Chile and Argentina. In some regions, it has become rare, but overall the species is not threatened with extinction.

The culpeo was domesticated by the Selkʼnam people of Tierra del Fuego, producing the Fuegian dog which became extinct in the late 19th or early 20th century.

Wikipedia contributors, Culpeo; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:20:39.492149+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Lycalopex culpaeus (Molina, 1782)

Name authority

(Molina, 1782)

Common name

Culpeo

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Carnivora

Family

Canidae

Genus

Lycalopex

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderCarnivora Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderCaniformia Kretzoi, 1938
13. familyCanidae G. Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
14. genusLycalopex Burmeister, 1854
15. speciesLycalopex culpaeus (Molina, 1782)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Lycalopex. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 30 records assigned to Canidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=726270 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3WJ93. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.