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Lycalopex griseus

Lycalopex griseus (*)

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Mammalia
Subclassis: Theria
Infraclassis: Placentalia
Ordo: Carnivora
Subordo: Caniformia
Familia: Canidae
Genus: Lycalopex
Species: Lycalopex griseus

Name

Lycalopex griseus (Gray, 1837)

Type locality: "Magellan", listed in Cabrera (1957) as "Costa del Estrecho de Magallanes" [Chile].

Synonyms

* Pseudalopex griseus (Gray, 1837)
* Vulpes griseus Gray, 1837
* Lycalopex gracilis (Burmeister, 1861)
* Canis gracilis Burmeister, 1854


References

* Gray, J. E. 1837. Mag. Nat. Hist. [Charlesworth's], 1: 578.
* Lycalopex griseus on Mammal Species of the World.
Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (editors). 2005. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
* IUCN link: Pseudalopex griseus (Gray, 1837) (Least Concern)
* Lycalopex griseus (Gray, 1837) Report on ITIS


Vernacular name
Deutsch: Argentinische Kampfuchs, Patagonischer Fuchs
English: South American Gray Fox
Français: Renard gris d’Argentine, Renard de Patagonie
Polski: Lis argentyński
Português: Raposa-cinzenta-argentina
Русский: Южноамериканская серая лисица, Аргентинская серая лисица
Türkçe: Arjantin gri tilkisi

The South American gray fox (Lycalopex griseus), also known as the Patagonian fox, the chilla, or the grey zorro, is a species of zorro, the "false" foxes.


Range and habitat

The South American gray fox is found in the Southern Cone of South America, particularly in Argentina and Chile. Its range comprises a stripe, both sides of the Andes Mountain Range between parallels 17ºS (northernmost Chile) and 54ºS (Tierra del Fuego).

In Argentina, this species inhabits the western semiarid region of the country, from the Andean spurs (ca. 69ºW) to meridian 66ºW. South from the Río Grande river, the distribution of the fox widens reaching the Atlantic coast. In Chile, it is present throughout the country. Its presence in Peru has been mentioned; to date, however, there has been no confirmation of it. The South American gray fox was introduced to the Falkland Islands in the late 1920s early 1930s and is still present in quite large numbers on Beaver and Weddell Islands plus several smaller islands.

The South American gray fox occurs in a variety of habitats, from the warm, arid scrublands of the Argentine Monte and the cold, arid Patagonian steppe to the forest of southernmost Chile.

Description

The South American gray fox is a small South American canid, weighing 2.5–4 kg (5–9 pounds), and measuring 43–70 cm (17–27 inches) in length.

Diet

Its diet consists mainly of rodents, birds, and rabbits.

Reproduction

It breeds in late austral fall, around March. After a gestation period of 2 months, 2-4 kits are born in a den. Not much else is recorded about its lifestyle.

References

^ Wozencraft, W. Christopher (16 November 2005). "Order Carnivora (pp. 532-628)". In Wilson, Don E., and Reeder, DeeAnn M., eds. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2 vols. (2142 pp.). ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
^ Jiménez et al. (2008). Pseudalopex griseus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 06 May 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (May 2008)

González del Solar, R. and J. Rau (2004) Pseudalopex griseus. In C. Sillero-Zubiri, M. Hoffman and D. Macdonald (eds.) Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs. Gland, Switzerland, IUCN/SSC Canid Specialist Group. Pp. 56–63. (Available at http://www.canids.org/species/Chilla.pdf)
IUCN (2004): Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs

External links

Funes, M. C., Novaro, A. J., Monsalvo, O. B., Pailacura, O., Sánchez Aldao, G., Pessino, M., Dosio, R., Chehébar, C., Ramilo, E., Bellati, J., Puig, S., Videla, F., Oporto, N., González del Solar, R., Castillo, E., García, E., Loekemeyer, N., Bugnest, F. and Mateazzi, G. (2006) El manejo de los zorros en la Argentina. Compatibilizando las interacciones entre la ganadería, la caza commercial y la conservación. In Bolkovik, M. L. and Ramadori, D. (eds.), Manejo de fauna silvestre en la Argentina. Programas de uso sustentable. Buenos Aires, Dirección de Fauna Silvestre. Chapter 12. (Available at http://www.canids.org/species/Funes%20et%20al%202006%20Manejo%20de%20zorros%20en%20Argentina.pdf)
http://www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=19

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