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The genus Urocyon contains two Western Hemisphere members of the fox family, the Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) and the closely related Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis), of the family Canidae. They are the only canids able to climb trees. Urocyon is one of the oldest fox genera still in existence. A third species, apparently close to extinction or even already extinct, is (or was until recently) found on the island of Cozumel, Mexico (Cuarón et al., 2004).The Cozumel fox, which has not been scientifically described to date, is a dwarf form like the Island Fox but a bit larger, being up to three-quarters the size of the Grey Fox (Gompper et al., 2006).
[edit] References
- Cuarón, Alfredo D.; Martinez-Morales, Miguel Angel; McFadden, Katherine W.; Valenzuela, David; & Gompper, Matthew E. (2004): The status of dwarf carnivores on Cozumel Island, Mexico. Biodiversity and Conservation 13: 317–331. PDF fulltext
- Gompper, M. E.; Petrites, A. E. & Lyman, R. L. (2006): Cozumel Island fox (Urocyon sp.) dwarfism and possible divergence history based on subfossil bones. J. Zool. 270(1): 72–77. DOI:10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00119.x (HTML abstract)
