I have recently been seeing a few Red Foxes in Daharan a sight I always
treasure. The Red Fox is currently recognized as a single species and has the
widest natural distribution of any terrestrial carnivore, possibly any
terrestrial mammal. Its range spans approximately 70 million square kilometres
encompassing much of Europe, Asia and North America and extending into North
Africa, with an introduced population in Australia. The Red Fox occupies a wide
variety of ecosystems, including forests, grasslands, deserts and agricultural
and human-dominated environments. Interestingly a recent study (see paper
detail below) was conducted providing the most geographically and genomically
comprehensive study to date of the Red Fox. Analysis of mitochondrial sequence
of 1000 individuals suggested an ancient Middle Eastern origin for all extant
Red Foxes with demographic analyses indicated a major expansion in Eurasia
during the last glaciation 50,000 years ago.
