?Arctic Fox Conservation status: Least concern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Genus: Alopex Kaup, 1829 Species: A. lagopus
Binomial name
Alopex lagopus (Linnaeus, 1758)

The arctic fox (Alopex lagopus), also known as the polar fox, is a small fox native to cold Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It is common in all three tundra biomes. Although some authorities have suggested placing it in the genus Vulpes, it has long been considered the sole member of the genus Alopex. The arctic fox has smaller, more rounded ears, a more rounded braincase, and a slightly shorter and broader muzzle than the red fox, Vulpes vulpes (Clutton-Brock et al. 1976). Its feet are furrier than those of other foxes. The arctic fox occurs in two distinct colour morphs, "blue" and "white". Each colour phase also changes seasonally: "blue" moults from chocolate brown in summer to lighter brown tinged with a blue sheen in winter, and "white" is almost pure white in winter, and in summer grey to brownish-grey dorsally, and light grey to white below. Colour morphs are determined genetically at a single locus, white being recessive. The "blue" morph comprises less than 1% of the population through most of its continental range, but this proportion increases westwards in Alaska, and on islands. In Greenland roughly half of arctic foxes are of the blue morph, and in Iceland most of them are blue. The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive. ... An arctic fox. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Multituberculata (extinct) Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Australosphenida Ausktribosphenida Monotremata Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Arctostylopida (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Cingulata Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Leptictida (extinct) Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata... Families 17, See classification The diverse order Carnivora IPA: (from Latin carō (stem carn-) flesh, + vorāre to devour) includes over 260 placental mammals. ... Genera Alopex Atelocynus Canis Cerdocyon Chrysocyon Cuon Dusicyon Fennecus Lycalopex Lycaon Nyctereutes Otocyon Pseudalopex Speothos Urocyon Vulpes Canidae is the family of carnivorous and omnivorous mammals commonly known as canines. ... Johann Jakob Kaup (April 10, 1803 - July 4, 1873) was a German naturalist. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... Carolus Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as , (May 23, 1707 – January 10, 1778), was a Swedish botanist, physician and zoologist[1] who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of nomenclature. ... 1758 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... A fox is a member of any of 27 species of small omnivorous canids. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border Satellite image of the Arctic surface The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole, opposite the Antarctican area around the South Pole. ... Insert non-formatted text here The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planets surface (or celestial sphere) that is north of the equator (the word hemisphere literally means half ball). On the Earth, the Northern Hemisphere contains most of the land and population. ... In physical geography, tundra is an area where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. ... In biology, a genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic grouping. ... Species Vulpes bengalensis Vulpes cana Vulpes chama Vulpes corsac Vulpes ferrilata Vulpes macrotis Vulpes pallida Vulpes rueppellii Vulpes velox Vulpes vulpes Vulpes zerda Vulpes is a genus of the Canidae family. ... Binomial name Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758 Synonyms Vulpes fulva, Vulpes fulvus The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is the most familiar of the foxes. ... In biology, polymorphism can be defined as the occurrence in the same habitat of two or more forms of a trait in such frequencies that the rarer cannot be maintained by recurrent mutation alone. ...

The arctic fox has evolved to live in the most frigid extremes on the planet. Among its adaptations for cold survival are its deep, thick fur, a system of countercurrent heat exchange in the circulation of paws to keep them from freezing, and a good supply of body fat. The fox has a low surface-area-to-volume ratio as evidenced by its generally rounded body shape, short muzzle and legs, and short, thick ears. Since less of its surface area is exposed to the cold, less heat escapes the body. Head-and-body length: 55 cm (21.7 inches) (male); 53 cm (21 inches) (female). Tail length: 31 cm (12.2 inches) (male); 30 cm (11.8 inches) (female). Shoulder height: 25-30 cm (9.9-11.8 inches). Weight: 3.8 kg (8.2 lb) (male); 3.1 kg (6.7 lb) (female). Sa/vol Ratio Usually used in biology, it stands for surface area to volume ratio. ...

Habits

The arctic fox will generally eat any meat it can find, including lemmings, arctic hares, birds and their eggs, and carrion. Lemmings are the most common prey. Arctic fox can also eat lemmings that they can't see beneath the snow. A family of foxes can eat dozens of lemmings each day. During April and May the arctic fox also preys on ringed seal pups when the young animals are confined to a snow den and are relatively helpless. When its normal prey is scarce, the arctic fox scavenges the leftovers of larger predators, such as polar bears, even though the bears' prey includes the arctic fox itself. Genera Dicrostonyx Lemmus Synaptomys Myopus  * Incomplete listing: see vole Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic. ... Binomial name Lepus timidus Linnaeus, 1758 The Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus) is a hare, which is largely adapted to polar and mountainous habitats. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... An average Whooping Crane egg is 102 mm long, and weighs 208 grams In some animals, an egg (Latin ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. ... Titan arum For other uses, see Carrion (disambiguation). ... Binomial name Phoca hispida (Schreber, 1775) The Ringed Seal is an earless seal inhabiting the Arctic coasts. ... Binomial name Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774 The polar bear (Ursus maritimus), also known as the white bear, northern bear, or sea bear, is a large bear native to the Arctic. ...

Foxes tend to form monogamous pairs in the breeding season. Litters of between six and twelve whelps are born in the early summer, a very large litter size for a mammal. The parents raise the young in a large den. Dens can be complex underground networks, housing many generations of foxes. Young from a previous year's litter may stay with the parents to help rear younger siblings. In monogamy (Greek: monos = single/only and gamos = marriage) a person has only one spouse or romantic partner at a time (as opposed to polygamy). ... PUP is a TLA that can stand for: PARC Universal Packet, one of the two earliest internetworking communications protocols Potentially unwanted programs, a term used for software you probably dont want installed, but isnt as annoying as adware, one example of PUP is spyware. ... Orders Multituberculata (extinct) Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Australosphenida Ausktribosphenida Monotremata Subclass Eutheria (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Anagaloidea (extinct) Arctostylopida (extinct) Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Cingulata Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Dinocerata (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Leptictida (extinct) Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata... Look up den in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The habitat of the arctic fox spans coastal to inland tundra areas. The white morph is generally associated with true tundra habitat, the blue more with coastal habitat.

Population and distribution

Distribution of the Arctic Fox

An Arctic Fox

The arctic fox has a circumpolar range, meaning that it is found throughout the entire Arctic, including the outer edges of Greenland, Russia, Canada, Alaska, and Svalbard, as well as in sub-Arctic and alpine areas, such as Iceland and mainland alpine Scandinavia. The conservation status of the species is good, except for the Scandinavian mainland population. It is acutely endangered there, despite decades of legal protection from hunting and persecution. The total population estimate in all of Norway, Sweden and Finland is a mere 120 adult individuals. Image File history File linksMetadata Distribution_arctic_fox. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Distribution_arctic_fox. ... Download high resolution version (600x619, 183 KB) Image info Animal species  Arctic Fox Location/Date  Schwarze Berge Wildlife Park (Germany), June 2001 Taken/scanned with  Canon EOS 50 with Canon 300/4 L IS USM / Nikon Coolscan III LS-30 Original picture  1941x2003 pixels, 11,1 MB Photographer  R Schmode... Download high resolution version (600x619, 183 KB) Image info Animal species  Arctic Fox Location/Date  Schwarze Berge Wildlife Park (Germany), June 2001 Taken/scanned with  Canon EOS 50 with Canon 300/4 L IS USM / Nikon Coolscan III LS-30 Original picture  1941x2003 pixels, 11,1 MB Photographer  R Schmode... Circumpolar stars are those stars which are located near the celestial poles of the celestial sphere, i. ... Official language(s) English Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Area  Ranked 1st  - Total 663,267 sq mi (1,717,854 km²)  - Width 808 miles (1,300 km)  - Length 1,479 miles (2,380 km)  - % water 13. ... The subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Canada and Siberia, the north of Scandinavia, northern Mongolia and the extreme north of Heilongjiang. ... Alpine may refer to: Alpine, a breed of goat. ... Scandinavia is a region in Northern Europe named after the Scandinavian Peninsula. ...

The abundance of the arctic fox species tends to fluctuate in a cycle along with the population of lemmings. Because the fox reproduces very quickly and often dies young, population levels are not seriously impacted by trapping. It has, nonetheless, been eradicated from many areas where humans are settled. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The arctic fox is losing ground to the larger red fox. Historically, the gray wolf has kept red fox numbers down, but as the wolf has been hunted to near extinction, the red fox population has grown larger, and it has taken over the niche of top predator. In areas of northern Europe there are programs in place that allow hunting of the red fox in the arctic fox's previous range. Binomial name Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758 The Gray Wolf (Canis lupus; also spelled Grey Wolf, see spelling differences; also known as Timber Wolf or Wolf) is a mammal in the order Carnivora. ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of taxa. ... Apex predators (also alpha predators or superpredators) are predators that are not preyed upon in the wild. ... World map showing Europe Political map (neighboring countries in Asia and Africa also shown) Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth. ...

References

• Nowak, Ronald M. (2005). Walker's Carnivores of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press. ISBN 0-8018-8032-7
• Angerbjörn et al (2004). Alopex lagopus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

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Alopex lagopus

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ... Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... Wikimedia Commons logo by Reid Beels The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ...