263 
VULPES FULVUS.— Desm 
American Red Fox. 
PLATE L X X X V I 
V. Rufo-fulvoque varius ; collo subtus ventreque imo albis ; pectore 
cano ; antibracbiis antice prodiisque nigris ; digitis fulvis ; cauda apice 
albS. 
CHARACTERS. 
Fur reddish or fulvous ; beneath the neck and belly white ; chest gray ; 
front part of the fore legs and feet, black ; toes fulvous ; tip of the tail white. 
SYNONYMES. 
Canis Fulvus. Desm. Mamm. p. 203. 
“ “ Fr. Cuvier, in Diet. des. Sc. Nat. VIII. p, 568. 
Renard de Virginie. Palesot de Beauvois Mem. Sur. 
Le Renard. Bullet, Soc. Phil. 
Red Fox. Sabine, Franklin’s Journ. p. 656. 
Canis Fulvus. Harlan, 89. 
“ “ Godman, vol. 1, p. 280. 
VuLPES Fulvus. Rich. Fauna, B. A. p. 91. 
“ “ De Kay, Nat. Hist. N. Y., p. 44, fig. 1 , pi. 7 . 
DESCRIPTION. 
This animal bears so strong a resemblance to the European Fox. (v. vul_ 
garis), that it was regarded as the same .species by early naturalists. No 
one, however, who will compare specimens from both countries, can have 
a doubt of their being very distinct. Our Red Fox is a little the largest, its 
legs are less robust, its nose shorter and more pointed, the eyes nearer 
together, its feet and toes more thickly clothed with fur, its ears shorter, 
it has a finer and larger brush, and its fur is much softer, finer, and of a 
brighter colour. 
It stands higher on its legs than the Gray Fox, and its muzzle is not so long 
and acute, as in that .species. It is formed for lightness and speed, and is 
more perfect in its proportions than any other species in the genus with 
which we are acquainted. 
The hair on the whole body is soft, silky, and lustrous ; the ears are cloth- 
ed with short hairs on both surfaces, and the feet and toes are sp clothe^ 
