NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Hoary Fox
Lycalopex vetulus (Lund, 1842)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Lycalopex vetulus, Bacury Lodge, Anhembi - State of São Paulo, Brazil
Steven Whitebread · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The hoary fox or hoary zorro (Lycalopex vetulus), also known as raposinha-do-campo in Brazil (Portuguese for "little fox of the meadow"), is a species of zorro or "false" fox endemic to Brazil. Unlike many other foxes, it feeds primarily on small invertebrates such as insects.
Wikipedia contributors, Hoary fox; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:40:46.615020+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lycalopex vetulus (Lund, 1842)
- Name authority
- (Lund, 1842)
- Common name
- Hoary Fox
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderCarnivora Bowdich, 1821
- suborderCaniformia Kretzoi, 1938
- familyCanidae G. Fischer von Waldheim, 1817
- genusLycalopex Burmeister, 1854
- speciesLycalopex vetulus (Lund, 1842)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lycalopex. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| CulpeoLycalopex culpaeus (Molina, 1782) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Darwin's FoxLycalopex fulvipes (Martin, 1837) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South American Gray FoxLycalopex griseus (Gray, 1837) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sechuran FoxLycalopex sechurae (Thomas, 1900) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Pseudalopex vetulus (Lund, 1842) (Lund, 1842) | synonym |
| Canis vetulus Lund, 1842 Lund, 1842 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=726275 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.
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:3WJ98. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.