NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Corsac Fox
Vulpes corsac (Linnaeus, 1768)
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.
Zoo, Amersfoort Holland
Wim Stam (User:Wim stam) · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The corsac fox (Vulpes corsac), also known as a corsac, is a medium-sized fox found in steppes, semi-deserts and deserts in Central Asia, ranging into Mongolia and northern China. Since 2004, it has been classified as least concern by IUCN, but populations fluctuate significantly, and numbers can drop tenfold within a single year. It is also known as the steppe fox. The word "corsac" is derived from the Russian name for the animal, "korsák" (корса́к), derived ultimately from Turkic "karsak".
Wikipedia contributors, Corsac fox; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T01:49:42.457978+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Vulpes corsac (Linnaeus, 1768)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1768)
- Common name
- Corsac Fox
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Canidae
- Genus
- Vulpes
- 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
- genusVulpes Frisch, 1775
- speciesVulpes corsac (Linnaeus, 1768)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Vulpes. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Blanford's FoxVulpes cana Blanford, 1877 | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tibetan FoxVulpes ferrilata Hodgson, 1842 | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Desert FoxVulpes macrotis Merriam, 1888 | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pale FoxVulpes pallida (Cretzschmar, 1826) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Rüppell's FoxVulpes rueppellii (Schinz, 1825) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Swift FoxVulpes velox (Say, 1823) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bengal FoxVulpes bengalensis (Shaw, 1800) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cape FoxVulpes chama (A. Smith, 1833) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cross FoxVulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| FennecVulpes zerda (Zimmermann, 1780) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Canis corsac Linnaeus, 1768 Linnaeus, 1768 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Southern Asia
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=621861 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:5BSFQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.