Editing Fox (section)

{{Short description|Genera of mammal}}
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{{For-multi|the American television network|Fox Broadcasting Company|other uses}}
{{redirect-multi|3|Foxes|Vixen|Skulk}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| auto = yes
| name = Foxes
| image = Vulpes_vulpes_ssp_fulvus.jpg
| image_alt = 
| image_caption = A [[red fox]] in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
| parent = Caninae
| includes = 
*''[[Cerdocyon]]''
*''[[Lycalopex]]''
*''[[Otocyon]]''
*''[[Vulpes]]''
*''[[Urocyon]]''
| excludes =
All other canine species
}}

'''Foxes''' are small-to-medium-sized [[omnivorous]] [[mammal]]s belonging to several [[genera]] of the family [[Canidae]]. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned [[snout]]; and a long, bushy [[tail]] ("brush").

Twelve [[species]] belong to the [[monophyly|monophyletic]] "true fox" group of genus ''[[Vulpes]]''. Another 25 current or [[extinction|extinct]] species are sometimes called foxes – they are part of the [[paraphyly|paraphyletic]] group of the [[South American foxes]] or an outlying group, which consists of the [[bat-eared fox]], [[gray fox]], and [[island fox]].<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Macdonald|editor1-first=David W.|editor2-last=Sillero-Zubiri|editor2-first=Claudio|title=The biology and conservation of wild canids|date=2004|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0198515562|page=49|edition=Nachdr. d. Ausg. 2004.}}</ref>

Foxes live on every continent except Antarctica. The most common and widespread species of fox is the [[red fox]] (''Vulpes vulpes'') with about 47 recognized [[subspecies]].<ref name=Lloyd1980>{{cite book|last1=Lloyd|first1=H.G.|title=The red fox|date=1981|publisher=Batsford|location=London|isbn=978-0-7134-11904|page=21|edition=2. impr.}}</ref> The global distribution of foxes, together with their widespread reputation for cunning, has contributed to their prominence in popular culture and folklore in many societies around the world. The [[Fox hunting|hunting of foxes]] with packs of hounds, long an established pursuit in Europe, especially in the [[British Isles]], was exported by European settlers to various parts of the [[New World]].