Red foxes are one of the most widespread species of carnivores in the world (Malkemper and Peichl, 2018). They have no one specific habitat where they are found and therefore can be found all over the world. They are nocturnal mammals therefore their eyes and ears are adapted to allow them to hunt in the dark. They are carnivores therefore they have appropriately developed teeth which allow them to catch their prey as well as an adapted skull to help them bite into their prey. This essay is going to discuss the red fox’s physiology and how this allows the red fox to survive in the many environments they can be found in.
Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are members of the family Canidae (Viranta and Kauhala, 2011). They are a medium-sized mammal which have a carnivorous diet (Malkemper and Peichl, 2018). They feed on organisms such as birds and small rodents such as mice (Malkemper and Peichl, 2018). This carnivorous diet means they need specialized teeth to eat their prey. Unlike carnivores which lean to a more omnivorous diet, and therefore their molars are stronger for grinding prey, carnivores with a more meat orientated diet have more emphasized canine teeth for slicing into their prey (Malkemper and Peichl, 2018). Red foxes are crepuscular and nocturnal hunters meaning they are most active at dusk and dawn (Malkemper and Peichl, 2018). Due to the fact they hunt when it is predominantly dark out this means the fox must have good hearing and eyesight. Foxes’ eyes are almost completely spherical in shape with the optic never leaving the eye at nearly the exact middle of the back of the eye (Malkemper and Peichl, 2018). The eye of a fox is common for crepuscular and nocturnal organisms. They have large pupils to allow them to see in the dark conditions. Fox’s hearing behaviors are close to those of domesticated cats and dogs. A study conducted showed that the fox’s hearing is more sharply tuned than those of cats and dogs (Malkemper et al., 2020). However, the study could not explain why this was. The fox’s skull also contributes highly to their bite and how they catch their prey. The size and shape of a fox’s skull changes between population and region (Viranta and Kauhala, 2011).
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Foxes have no real specific habitat and therefore can be found in many different environments. These can range anywhere from urban areas such as cities and towns, to deserts (Viranta and Kauhala, 2011). Due to the fact they have no specific habitat they can be found all around the world such as most of Europe, Asia, parts of North America and Australia (Viranta and Kauhala, 2011). Fox’s physiology varies slightly between these different environments. For example, the fox skull, foxes found in more urban regions were found to have larger brain cases and shorter snout regions whereas, foxes found in rural areas were found to have longer snouts and smaller brain cases (Viranta and Kauhala, 2011).
In conclusion, red foxes are one of the most widespread species of carnivores (Malkemper and Peichl, 2018). This is a result of them having no one specific habitat. However, their physical attributes such as their eyes, ears, skull and teeth as mentioned above allow them to adapt to whichever of the environments mentioned they are part of.
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