The island fox, Urocyon littoralis, is a small fox endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. It descends from mainland gray foxes that reached the islands around 7,000 years ago, possibly carried by early people, and has diversified into six subspecies, each confined to its own island, all showing insular dwarfism. It lives in all the island biomes, including temperate forest, temperate grassland and chaparral, and prefers complex vegetation with many woody, fruiting shrubs. No island supports more than 1,000 foxes. It is generally nocturnal with peaks of activity at dawn and dusk, though foxes on tourist-heavy Santa Catalina Island have become more diurnal. Isolation left it without immunity to mainland diseases, notably those carried by domestic dogs, and four subspecies were federally listed as endangered in 2004.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) ThreatsInvasive and Other Problematic Species, Genes and Diseases 2 Living or Extinct Body Size Band Activity Pattern Activity Pattern Comparison
CITES Appendix Connections
Child Taxon Of
In Biome
Source Island fox (Wikipedia)
Source Island fox (Wikipedia)
Source Island fox (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Source Island fox (Wikipedia)Lead, Channel Islands of CaliforniaQuote, Lead, Channel Islands of California
endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California
Sources
1. Ecological Archives E095-178 (Wilman et al. 2014): EltonTraits 1.0 mammal diet data
Ecological Archives E095-178 (Wilman et al. 2014)MamFuncDat.txt row Urocyon littoralis, BodyMass-Value (grams)
Urocyon littoralis Canidae 10 0 0 0 30 0 20 0 20 20 Ref_1 ABC G A 1 1 0 Ref_1 ABC 1896
MamFuncDat.txt row Urocyon littoralis, Diet-Inv through Diet-PlantO
Urocyon littoralis Canidae 10 0 0 0 30 0 20 0 20 20 Ref_1 ABC G A 1 1 0 Ref_1 ABC 1896
View the Source 2. Island fox (Wikipedia)
Lead, living species
The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is a small fox species that is endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California.
Behavior, dawn and dusk
It is generally nocturnal, although with peaks of activity at dawn and dusk.
Habitat
It lives in all of the island biomes including temperate forest, temperate grassland and chaparral, with no island supporting more than 1,000 foxes.
Conservation, disease
Because the island fox is geographically isolated, it has not acquired immunity to parasites and diseases brought in from the mainland and is especially vulnerable to those that the domestic dog (Canis familiaris) may carry.
Lead, Channel Islands of California
endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California
Child Taxon Of: Urocyon, Lead, genus
The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is a small fox species that is endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California.
In Group: Dogs And Wild Canids, Lead, canid
The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is a small fox species that is endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California.
In Biome: Grassland, Habitat, temperate grassland
It lives in all of the island biomes including temperate forest, temperate grassland and chaparral, with no island supporting more than 1,000 foxes.
In Biome: Chaparral, Habitat, chaparral
It lives in all of the island biomes including temperate forest, temperate grassland and chaparral, with no island supporting more than 1,000 foxes.
View the Source3. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Urocyon littoralis
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of ZoologyConservation Status: CITESQuote, Conservation Status: CITES
No special status
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