4 min read
Are Foxes Related to Dogs? Canine, Feline, or Something Else
Foxes are canines — same family as dogs and wolves — but a separate branch that split 10–12 million years ago. Why they behave so much like cats.
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Topic
species
'Fox' is a shape more than a family. Twelve species belong to the true fox genus *Vulpes*, from the 1 kg fennec to the 8 kg red fox — and several other canids carry the name without being closely related at all, including North America's tree-climbing grey fox.
These articles cover who is who, how they differ, and why the same body plan keeps appearing in unrelated lineages. They also cover which species are secure and which are quietly in trouble.
What these articles will let you do
- Name the twelve true foxes and place them by range and size
- Tell a true fox from a grey fox, a bat-eared fox or a South American zorro
- Understand why fox conservation is local rather than global
10 articles on species
4 min read
Where Do Foxes Live? Habitat, Range and What They Need
Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica, in tundra, desert, forest, farmland and city centre. What a fox actually needs from a habitat.
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5 min read
What Colour Is a Fox? Red, Silver, Cross and Everything Between
Red foxes are not always red. A guide to the colour morphs — red, cross, silver, black, leucistic — and what actually stays constant.
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4 min read
How Big Is a Fox? Real Weights, and Why They Look Bigger
An adult red fox weighs 5–8 kg — about the same as a large house cat. Sizes for every fox species, and why people consistently overestimate them.
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5 min read
The Gray Fox: The Fox That Climbs Trees
The gray fox is not a Vulpes, has a black-tipped tail, eats more fruit than most canids and climbs trees. A full guide to Urocyon cinereoargenteus.
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4 min read
Are Foxes Endangered? The Threats That Actually Matter
Red foxes are thriving, but Darwin's fox, the island fox and Fennoscandia's Arctic foxes are not. What threatens foxes, species by species.
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4 min read
Is a Fox a Mammal? Yes — and Here's the Evidence
Foxes are placental mammals: they have fur, are warm-blooded, give birth to live young and nurse them. Where foxes sit in mammal classification.
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5 min read
Foxes of the World: All 12 True Foxes, and the Ones That Aren't
There are 12 true foxes in the genus Vulpes — plus grey foxes, bat-eared foxes and others that carry the name. A complete guide to who is who.
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5 min read
The Fennec Fox: Built for the Sahara, Not for Your Living Room
The fennec fox is the smallest canid on Earth and can live without drinking water. How its ears, kidneys and behaviour beat the desert — and why it makes a poor pet.
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5 min read
How the Arctic Fox Survives −50 °C
The Arctic fox has the warmest coat of any mammal and does not shiver until −70 °C. How its body, coat and hunting strategy handle the polar winter.
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Species: common questions
- How many species of fox are there?
- Twelve true foxes in the genus Vulpes. Counting the other canids commonly called foxes brings the total to roughly 23.
- What is the smallest fox?
- The fennec, at 0.7–1.6 kg — the smallest species in the entire dog family. The largest is the red fox at 5–8 kg.
- Is a grey fox a true fox?
- No. It belongs to Urocyon, an older and separate canid lineage, and unlike true foxes it climbs trees.
Related topics
identification
Telling foxes apart from dogs, cats and coyotes — and from each other — using field marks that work at distance.
red fox
The red fox, Vulpes vulpes — the most widespread wild carnivore on Earth, covered from field marks to life cycle.
science
Classification, evolution and the research behind the claims — including where the evidence is contested.
Not what you were looking for? Browse every topic or all articles, and if the answer you need is missing, tell us — reader questions are where most of these articles started.