Editing Cape fox (section)

==Description==
''Vulpes chama'' is a small-built [[canid]], usually measuring {{cvt|45|to|62|cm|in|round=0.5}} long, not including its tail, which is typically {{cvt|30|to|40|cm|in|round=0.5}}. It is {{cvt|30|to|35|cm|in|round=0.5}} tall at the shoulder, and usually weighs from {{cvt|2.5|to|4.5|kg|lb}}.<ref name="Lavoie">{{Cite journal|issn=0076-3519 |issue=972 |pages=11–17| last1=Lavoie |first1=Maxime |last2=Renard |first2=Aurélie |last3=Pitt |first3=Justin A. |last4=Larivière |first4=Serge |title=Vulpes chama (Carnivora: Canidae) |journal=Mammalian Species|date=2019 |volume=51 |doi=10.1093/mspecies/sez002 |s2cid=198261483|doi-access=free }}</ref> The skull is very similar to that of ''[[Vulpes bengalensis|V.&nbsp;bengalensis]]'', although the cranium of ''V.&nbsp;chama'' is slightly wider and the maxillary region is slightly shorter.<ref name="Clutton-Brock"/>

[[File:Vulpes chama 01 MWNH 571.JPG|thumb|left|Skull of a cape fox]]
The ears are relatively large and sharp, the muzzle is small and pointed. Pelage colour is silvery-gray, tawny at the back of the ears, with white hairs appearing around the side of the [[Auricle (anatomy)|pinna]] in the center.<ref name="Lavoie"/> The colour of the neck and sides is lighter, and the underparts are pale tawny to pale buff.<ref name="Sheldon">{{cite book |last1=Sheldon |first1=Jennifer W. |title=Wild dogs: the natural history of the non-domestic Canidae |date=1992 |publisher=Academic Press |location=San Diego |isbn=9781483263694 |pages=168–171 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a63SBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA168}}</ref> The head is dull red and the lower jaw is dark brown. There are white marks on the throat. The legs are more tawny than the rest of the body.<ref name="Clutton-Brock">{{cite journal |last1=Clutton-Brock |first1=Juliet |last2=Corbet |first2=Gordon B |last3=Hills |first3=Michael |title=A review of the family Canidae, with a classification by numerical methods |journal=Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) |date=1976 |volume=29 |pages=117–199 |doi=10.5962/bhl.part.6922 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2307344#page/180/mode/1up|doi-access=free }}</ref> The tail is dense and bushy, and can be silvery, pale fawn, buff with brown or black tips, or dull yellow. The tail tip is always black,<ref name="Lavoie"/> and there's a dark spot over the caudal gland.<ref name="Sheldon"/>

Pelage is soft and composed of a thick wavy underfur of around {{cvt|25|mm|0}} in length. Underfur is covered with a dense layer of guard hair < {{cvt|40|mm}} in thickness. Molt occurs in the wet season from October to November.<ref name="Lavoie"/> ''V.&nbsp;chama'' presents little to no [[sexual dimorphism]].<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Kieser JA, Groeneveld HT |title=Comparative morphology of the mandibulodental complex in wild and domestic canids. |journal=Journal of Anatomy |date=June 1992 |volume=180 |issue=Pt 3 |pages=419–424 |pmid=1487435 |pmc=1259643}}</ref>