NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Desert Fox
Vulpes macrotis Merriam, 1888
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.
San Joaquin Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis mutica)
B. Peterson · Public domain · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 320 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The kit fox (Vulpes macrotis) is a fox species that inhabits arid and semi-arid regions of the Southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. These foxes are the smallest of the four species of Vulpes occurring in North America and are among the smallest of the vulpines worldwide. It has also been called a North American counterpart of the fennec fox due to its large ears.
Wikipedia contributors, Kit 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 macrotis Merriam, 1888
- Name authority
- Merriam, 1888
- Common name
- Desert 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 macrotis Merriam, 1888
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 |
| 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 |
| Corsac FoxVulpes corsac (Linnaeus, 1768) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cross FoxVulpes vulpes (Linnaeus, 1758) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| FennecVulpes zerda (Zimmermann, 1780) | CanidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
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=180606 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:5BSFW. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.