342 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Principal records. De Kay: "This species is more common in the 

 southern counties than farther north. On Long Island it is very abun- 

 dant" ('42, p. 46). Fisher: "Not uncommon [at Sing Sing] but much 

 rarer than the red fox. Judging from the number killed the red fox is 

 five times more common than the gray w ('96, p. 199). Mearns : " This 

 is the common fox of the [Hudson highlands] region, the red fox being 

 comparatively scarce. It is very destructive to poultry" ('98a, p. 350). 

 "A few gray foxes were said to have made their appearance in the upper 

 part of Schoharie valley during recent years" ('98b, p. 360). 



I have never met with the gray fox in New York. 



Mr Savage writes me that he has reliable evidence of the recent cap- 

 ture of several gray foxes near Buffalo. 



Mr Helme writes : a The gray fox was formerly quite common on Long 

 Island, but now it is nearly extinct. I have heard of no specimens taken 

 during the past four or five years." 



Vulpes fulvus Desmarest Red fox 



1820 Canis fulvus Desmarest, Mammalogie. p. 203 



1842 Vulpes fulvus De Kay, Zoology of New York, Mammalia, p. 44. 



1882 Vulpes vulgaris pennsylvanicus Merriam, Linn. soc. New York. 



Trans. 1:45. (Not of Boddaert) 

 1896 Vulpes pennsylvanicus Fisher, The Observer. May 1896. 7 : 109. 

 1898 Vulpes pennsylva?iicus Mearns, U. S. Nat. mus. Pioc. 21 :358. 

 1898 Vulpes peimsylvanicus Mearns, Am. mus nat. hist. Bui. 9 Sep. 1898. 



10:350. 



Type locality. Virginia. 



Faunal position. L T pper austral, transition and Canadian zones. 



Habitat. While its habitat is primarily forests the red fox can accom- 

 modate itself to an almost endless variety of conditions. 



Distribution i?i New York. The red fox occurs throughout the state. 



Principal records. De Kay : (No details given but the inference is that 

 the author considered the animal well known everywhere in New York). 

 Merriam: '-The common fox is a tolerably abundant resident in the 

 north woods" (82, p. 45). Fisher: Common [in the neighborhood of 

 Sing Sing] ('96, p. 199). Mearns: ''This splendid animal is not 

 numerous in the [Hudson] highlands. It prefers more open country" 

 ('98a, p. 350). " This fox is known to be tolerably common through- 

 out the Schoharie valley " ('98 b, p. 358). 



I have found the red fox not uncommon at Geneva, Ontario co. ; Peter 

 boro, Madison co. and Elizabethtown, Essex co. 



