Pseudalopex griseus

• Main Authors: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Lynx Edicions 2009
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Chordata; Mammalia; Carnivora; Canidae; Pseudalopex; Pseudalopex griseus; Antarc*; Antarctica; Tierra del Fuego
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6585161; http://treatment.plazi.org/id/03ACCF40BF24FFDD7ED2F43CFADFD812

16. South American Gray Fox Pseudalopex griseus French: Renard d’Argentine / German: Argentinischer Kampfuchs / Spanish: Zorro de Magallanes Other common names: Chilla, Small Gray Fox Taxonomy. Vulpes griseus Gray, 1837, Chile. Formerly believed to include an island form, which since has been recognized as Darwin’s Fox. The Pampas Fox has recently been suggested to be conspecific with P. griseus on the basis of a craniometric and pelage-characters analysis, leading to the conclusion that P. gymnocercus and P. griseus are clinal variations of one single species, namely Lycalopex gymmnocercus. Four subspecies are recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. P. g. griseus Gray, 1837 — Argentine and Chilean Patagonia. P. g. domeykoanus Philippi, 1901 — N & C Chile, possibly S Peru. P. g. gracilis Burmeister, 1861 — W Argentina (Monte Desert). P. g. maullinicus Philippi, 1903 — S Argentine and Chilean temperate forests. Introduced (griseus) in Tierra del Fuego. Descriptive notes. Head-body 50- 1-66 cm, tail 11-5-34- 7 cm; weight 2-5- 5 kg. A small fox with large ears and a rufescent head flecked with white. Well-marked black spot on chin. Coat brindled gray, made up of agouti guard hairs with pale underfur. Black patch across thighs. Legs and feet pale tawny. Underparts pale gray. Tail long and bushy, with dorsal line and tip black and a mixed pale tawny and black pattern on the underside. The cranium is small, lacking an interparietal crest. Teeth widely separated. The dental formulaisI13/3,C1/1,PM 4/4, M 2/3 = 42. Habitat. Steppes, grasslands and scrublands. South American Gray Foxes generally inhabit plains and low mountains, but they have been reported to occur as high as 3500-4000 m. Although they occur in a variety of habitats, they prefer shrubby open areas. In Chile, they hunt more commonly in flat open patches of low scrub. In Chilean Patagonia, their typical habitat consists of shrubby steppe composed of coiron (Festuca spp., Stipa spp.) and nires (Nothofagus antarctica). Burning and destruction of forests ...