The Fennec Fox

1431 Words3 Pages

The Fennec Fox, also known as the Dessert Fox, is the smallest species of fox in the world. Linnaeus, who is known as the father of Taxonomy, classified all foxes under the Genus Vulpes- Fennec Foxes are more specifically classified within the species as Vulpes zerda. As previously stated Fennec Foxes are the smallest known species of foxes- to give one a mental image, they are smaller than the typical house cat. Vulpes zerda’s head and body are roughly eleven inches long, with a tail around seventeen inches long. On average the female fox, a vixen, weighs .8kg. The male fox, a dog, is considerably plumper weighing an average 1.8kg. Unlike many animals within the animal kingdom, Fennec Foxes are usually monogamous. The Encyclopedia of Life explains further that “the pair lives with their offspring in a family unit of up to ten individuals” ("Vulpes zerda: Fennec,").
The ecosystem of the desert biome is created due to the low average rainfall it receives each year. Though there are four major types of desert in this African biome--hot and dry, semiarid, costal, and cold—the largest populations of Fennec Foxes live in the northern, semiarid portion of the Sahara Desert. The countries within the Sahara desert range from Mauritania to Sudan—encompassing over 3.3 million square miles. Rain is infrequent and usually torrential- half of the Sahara receives less than an inch a year and the remaining receiving as much as 10 centimeters—much of which evaporates before it hits the ground. The Sahara desert is a vast habit that includes a variety of vegetation and animals. However, like many deserts vegetation is limited, the three best known plants in the Sahara desert include: Bristle Grass, Ephedra, and Merkba. The animals that live s...

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...erda/
Asa, C. S. (2008). Vulpes zerda (fennec fox). Retrieved from http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/41588/0
Clayton, C. (2012). Relationships with other species. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/fennecfoxawareness/relationships-with-other-species
Fennec fox. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/fennec-fox/?
Fennec fox facts. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://interesting-animal-facts.com/Desert-Animal-Facts/Fennec-Fox-Facts.shtml
Harmon, B. (n.d.). The physical adaptions of the fennec fox. Retrieved from http://animals.pawnation.com/physical-adaptations-fennec-foxes-6101.html
Seigfreid, D. (June, 2010). Discovering the biogeochemical cycles. Retrieved from http//ww.dummies.com/how-to/content/discovering-the-biogeochemical-cycles.html
Vulpes zerda: Fennec fox. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://eol.org/pages/328001/details

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