The gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America (Venezuela and Colombia). This species and the closely related Channel Island fox (Urocyon littoralis) are the only living members of the genus Urocyon, which is considered to be among the most primitive of the living canids. Though it was once the most common fox in the east, and still is found there, human advancement allowed the red fox to become more dominant. The Pacific States still have the gray fox as a dominant. Its specific epithet cinereoargenteus means 'ashen silver'.
Read more about Gray Fox: Origin, Description and Behavior, Reproduction, Diet, Subspecies
Famous quotes containing the words gray and/or fox:
“‘Ruin seize thee, ruthless king!
Confusion on thy banners wait,”
—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)
“Perhaps of all our untamed quadrupeds, the fox has obtained the widest and most familiar reputation.... His recent tracks still give variety to a winter’s walk. I tread in the steps of the fox that has gone before me by some hours, or which perhaps I have started, with such a tip-toe of expectation as if I were on the trail of the Spirit itself which resides in the wood, and expected soon to catch it in its lair.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)