Afghan fox
| Afghan fox | ||||||||||||
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Afghan fox in southern Israel |
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| Vulpes cana | ||||||||||||
| Blanford , 1877 |
The Afghan fox ( Vulpes cana ) is a predatory animal of the real foxes (Vulpini) within the dogs (Canidae). It is native to Central Asia and parts of the Arabian Peninsula and, along with the Fennec, is one of the smallest representatives of this group. It lives in dry mountain regions up to an altitude of 2000 meters as well as in desert and steppe areas. The fox feeds primarily on insects and also uses a large proportion of fruits and other vegetable sources of food.
There is no reliable information on the size of the population or the development of the population. The Afghan fox is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as “ least concern” due to its large distribution area and the current lack of serious threats .
features
general characteristics
According to Geffen et al. 1994 in Iranian - Afghan regions as well as in Oman a head-trunk length of 40 to 50 centimeters, Sillero-Zubiri 2009 gives a head-trunk length for the fox of 38.5 to 80 centimeters for the males and 38.5 to 76.5 centimeters in the females. According to Geffen et al. In 2004, the foxes in the United Arab Emirates are significantly larger than the individuals in Israel, with an average head-trunk length of 74.4 centimeters for males and 71.1 centimeters for females . According to Sillero-Zubiri 2009, the length of the tail is 26 to 35.5 centimeters in males and 29 to 35 centimeters in females, and 33 to 41 centimeters according to Geffen 1994. The animals weigh around one kilogram, with a range of around 0.8 to 1.5 kilograms. A sexual dimorphism is not very pronounced in this type, the males are usually larger only about 3 to 6%.
Afghan foxes have a soft fur, gray-brown on the upper side, with a black back line that extends from the shoulders to over the tail, the belly side is white to yellowish-white. The winter coat is very soft and dense with a dark undercoat and, in contrast to the summer coat, has white speckles; together with a somewhat thicker layer of fat, it provides thermal insulation in cold and dry winter. The tail is almost the same length as the body and very bushy. It resembles the fur on the back in its coloration and has a black spot near the base that marks the vial gland , and usually a black - more rarely a white - tip. The feet are pale yellowish-white on the front and dark gray on the back; the black pads, unlike those of other foxes in the region, are hairless and the claws are curved like a cat .
The face of the fox is very narrow with a pointed snout. It is gray-brown-orange and has characteristic black markings from the front corner of the eye to the upper lip. The iris is very dark and is only slightly separated from the pupil . At 6.5 to 7.0 centimeters in length, the ears are slightly shorter than those of the Fennec , but like the Fennec they are very prominent in relation to the shape of the head. The ears are pale brown with long white hair on the edge.
In terms of size and appearance, the Afghan fox resembles the closely related fennec ( Vulpes zerda ). The Afghan fox differs from the other foxes of the Arabian desert regions mainly in its long and bushy tail, which in relation to the total length of this species is significantly longer than that of the Rüppellfuchs ( Vulpes rueppelli ; 6.8% longer), the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes ; 9.8% longer) and especially in the Fennec (22.5% longer). The length of the hind legs, on the other hand, is shorter compared to those of the other species in relation to the body length, and the relative ear length is between that of the red fox and the ear length of the other species.
Skull and skeletal features
| 3 | · | 1 | · | 4th | · | 2 | = 42 |
| 3 | · | 1 | · | 4th | · | 3 |
The skull has a basal length of about 94 millimeters and a maximum width in the area of the zygomatic arches of about 49 millimeters. In the area of the skull it is about 35 millimeters wide. The skull is slightly larger than that of the Fennec and smaller than that of the Rüppellfuchs, but compared to both the snout is significantly narrower, with long and narrow nasal bones . The skull is also comparatively narrow and has only a poorly defined crest. The tympanic membrane is also slightly smaller than that of the Rüppellfuchs.
The row of teeth in the upper jaw is about 41 millimeters and in the lower jaw about 45 millimeters long. The fox has three per half of the maxilla front teeth (incisors), a canine (canine), four Vorbackenzähne (Praemolares) and two molars (Molar) and per jaw half three incisors, one canine, four Vorbackenzähne and three molars. The animals have a total of 42 teeth.
The penis bone (baculum) of the Afghan fox corresponds to that of the Rüppell fox with a length of about 41.5 millimeters, but is somewhat wider and has an enlarged tip.
distribution and habitat
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Until the 1980s, the Afghan fox was believed to be found only in Central Asia , where it is common in Afghanistan , northeast Iran , Turkmenistan, and Balochistan . In 1981 the species was discovered in Israel , where it is relatively common in the southern parts of the country. Further occurrences have also been discovered on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt , Oman , Saudi Arabia , Jordan , Yemen and the United Arab Emirates , so that its range - albeit fragmented - extends over large parts of the Arabian Peninsula .
Its habitat are dry, rugged mountain regions up to an altitude of 2000 meters, sometimes it can also be found in deserts and steppes . In the Middle East , the foxes are confined to mountainous desert areas and inhabit steep, rocky slopes, canyons, and cliffs. In Israel, the foxes mainly use dry streams and rivers as a habitat.
Way of life
The knowledge of the Afghan fox's way of life is very limited and comes mainly from research projects in Israel. In contrast, hardly any data is available on the differences and peculiarities of the animals in the Central Asian distribution areas.
Afghan foxes inhabit an area averaging 1.6 square kilometers in size, inhabited by a monogamous couple and only overlapping with territories of other animals at the edges. A second female from the litter of the previous year lives in about three out of five territories and is tolerated by the territory owners. The animals are strictly nocturnal and thus avoid the birds of prey that hunt during the day, during the day they sleep in caves or crevices. The activity usually starts right after sunset and lasts around 8 to 9 hours; During this period of time, they cover seven to eleven kilometers in an area averaging 1.1 square kilometers in size to search for food. The foxes are usually alone and only rarely in pairs. A significant difference in the behavior of males and females or seasonal differences could not be observed so far. Unlike most other foxes, Afghan foxes can climb in rocky areas and also overcome larger distances by jumps that are wide and over three meters high. The animals probably use the comparatively long tail for balance, and the bare pads and the cat-like curved claws give them support on the rock surface.
The burrows of the foxes usually consist of natural caves and cairns in rocky mountain slopes, the animals do not dig their own burrows. They are mainly used in spring to raise the young, in the rest of the year they serve as a hiding place and resting place during the day. While the couples often use their burrows together in winter and spring, they can use several hiding places independently in summer and autumn and change them more often.
nutrition
Afghan foxes are herbivores to a greater extent than most other foxes. Their diet mainly includes insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, ants and termites as well as various fruits and other parts of plants. The latter mainly include capers from the real caper bush ( Capparis spinosa ) and Capparis cartilaginea , fruits such as grapes , dates from the real date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera ) and melons, as well as plant material from Ochradenus baccatus , Fagonia mollis and various grasses . They also seldom eat small vertebrates; Corresponding remains could only be detected in about 10% of all samples in examinations of the faeces.
The foraging for food is usually done individually, less often as a couple. When observed, the animals were looking for food alone in 92% of all cases. The main reason for prey hunting and foraging is that the foxes mostly look for their prey between and under stones and occasionally also dig. With faster or flying prey, there are short jumps or sprints. Afghan foxes get their fluid needs from food and do not have to drink water, so their habitat is not dependent on superficially accessible water resources.
Reproduction and development
Afghan foxes live together in monogamous pairs. The females are fertile only once a year, in Israel in January to February. The pairings take place accordingly in the period from December to February. After a gestation period of 50 to 60 days, the female gives birth to one to three young animals. The young animals have a soft, black fur and a birth weight of around 30 grams. The females have two to six lactating teats while rearing their young and breastfeed the young for 30 to 45 days before they are weaned. Until this point in time, they do not receive any additional nutrition and are dependent on their mother's milk alone. After about two months, the young animals go looking for food together with a parent animal, one month later they do it alone. After about three to four months they reach their maximum weight as subadults of 700 to 900 grams; they only increase with sexual maturity after 8 to 12 months. Most young foxes leave their parents in the autumn of their first year of life.
The average life expectancy of the Afghan fox is four to five years, with some animals living in captivity up to six years old.
Predators and parasites
According to a study from Israel, the main causes of death of Afghan foxes were primarily age and rabies . According to this study, however, kills by other animals are limited to one case in which an Afghan fox was killed by a red fox . In addition to the red fox, the potential predators include the leopard ( Panthera pardus ), the eagle owl ( Bubo bubo ) and birds of prey such as the golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos ) and the Bonelli's eagle ( Hieraaetus fasciatus ).
There is little data on parasite infestation other than rabies infections in the Afghan fox. Especially foxes in bad shape are often infested with many ticks .
Evolution and systematics
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Phylogenetic classification of the genus Vulpes
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There is no significant fossil record for the Afghan fox , accordingly no statements based on fossil finds can be made about the development of the species or the original distribution areas. According to genetic analyzes, the ancestors of the Afghan fox and those of the Fennec separated about 3 to 4.5 million years ago in the Pliocene , this separation probably being associated with the formation of desert areas in the Middle East and North Africa. The oldest fossil finds of the Fennec come from the late Pleistocene .
The first scientific description of the Afghan fox as Vulpes canus comes from William Thomas Blanford in 1877, which is why it is also known under the English name " Blanford's Fox ". Blanford placed him in the Vulpes genus . The first description was based on an individual from Balochistan in today's Pakistan . The species name "canus" was chosen by Blanford because of the gray color of the fox, as this is the Latin name for the color gray .
Today the Afghan fox is included in the genus Vulpes along with eleven other species . On the basis of morphological and molecular biological data, it was classified by Binninda-Emonds and colleagues in 1999 as a sister species of Fennec ( Vulpes zerda ). Together, both species form the sister group of a larger clade , which brings together the more derived species of the genus Vulpes . This position was also used by Lindblad-Toh et al. Confirmed in 2005 who did a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the dogs.
Apart from the nominate form , no subspecies are distinguished.
Threat and protection
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The hunt for the Afghan fox and the trade in its skins were carried out intensively in earlier years; today both are largely confined to Afghanistan. Compared to other foxes, however, Afghan foxes are hunted less often and few furs are commercially available. In the years 1983 and 1985 to 1986 no skins were exported, for 1980 and 1982 the export is given as seven pieces. In 1981 around 30 skins were exported from Afghanistan, for 1984 there is an export figure of 519 from Canada. International trade is now prohibited by the Washington Convention on the Conservation of Species , in which the Afghan fox is listed in Appendix II. In some areas of the range there are killings with poisonous baits that are laid out for other predators such as hyenas or wolves.
The size of the Afghan fox population is unclear; estimates of population densities in individual regions only exist for Israel. For example, a population density of 2 animals per square kilometer is assumed in the En Gedi area and 0.5 animals per square kilometer for Eilat . In other parts of the Arab and Central Asian distribution area, the population is estimated to be locally stable. There are no endangering threats to the species. Locally, however, threats from habitat changes and settlements can arise, for example in Israel in the West Bank and the Dead Sea as well as in the United Arab Emirates.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) classifies the species as "not endangered" ( least concern ), since an acute threat to the stocks is not assumed. By 2008, however, it was classified as "endangered" ( vulnerable ) due to the increasing scarcity of its habitat . The change in status was justified by the fact that, according to recent research, the Afghan fox has a comparatively large distribution area and is particularly common in the mountain regions. In Israel, the Afghan fox is fully protected and its habitats are largely in nature reserves. Hunting is prohibited in Oman and Jordan , but there are no regulations in other countries.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Eli Geffen: Vulpes cana (Carnivora: Canidae) . In: Mammalian Species . tape 462 , 1994, pp. 1–4 ( full text [PDF; 525 kB ]).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Claudio Sillero-Zubiri: Blanford's Fox Vulpes cana. In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2009, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i E. Geffen, R. Hefner and P. Wright: Blanford's fox - Vulpes cana Blanford, 1877. In: Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Michael Hoffman, David W. MacDonald: Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs - 2004 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN / SSC Canid Specialist Group 2004, ISBN 2-8317-0786-2 : pp. 194–198 Online ( Memento from April 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.6 MB)
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Vulpes cana in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Submitted by: E. Geffen, R. Hefner, P. Wright, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
- ^ A b ORP Binninda-Emonds, JL Gittleman, A. Purvis: Building large trees by combining phylogenetic information: a complete phylogeny of the extant carnovora (Mammalia). Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society 74, 1999; Pp. 143-175.
- ^ A b Serge Larivière: Vulpes zerda (Carnivora: Canidae) . In: Mammalian Species . tape 714 , 2002, pp. 1–5 ( full text [PDF; 525 kB ]). Full text ( memento of the original from April 30, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ A b William Thomas Blanford : Notes on two species of asiatic bears, the "Mamh" of Belúchistán and Ursus pruinosus, Blyth, of Tibet, and on an apparently undescribed fox from Belúchistán. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Part II - Physical Science 46, 1877; Pp. 315-322. ( Digitized version )
- ^ A b Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Vulpes cana in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
- ↑ Kerstin Lindblad-Toh et al .: Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog. Nature 438, December 2005; Page 803–819. ( Abstract ).
literature
- Eli Geffen: Vulpes cana (Carnivora: Canidae) . In: Mammalian Species . tape 462 , 1994, pp. 1–4 ( full text [PDF; 525 kB ]).
- Claudio Sillero-Zubiri: Blanford's Fox Vulpes cana. In: Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier (eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World. Volume 1: Carnivores. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2009; P. 445, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 .
- E. Geffen, R. Hefner and P. Wright: Blanford's fox - Vulpes cana Blanford, 1877 . In: Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Michael Hoffman, David W. MacDonald: Canids: Foxes, Wolves, Jackals and Dogs - 2004 Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN / SSC Canid Specialist Group 2004, ISBN 2-8317-0786-2 : pp. 194–198 Online ( Memento from April 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 1.6 MB)
Web links
- Vulpes cana onthe IUCN 2012 Red List of Threatened Species . 2. Submitted by: E. Geffen, R. Hefner, P. Wright, 2004. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
