Editing Arctic fox (section)

==Taxonomy==
''Vulpes lagopus'' is a 'true fox' belonging to the genus ''[[Vulpes]]'' of the fox [[tribe (biology)|tribe]] [[Vulpini]], which consists of 12 extant species.<ref name="ReferenceF"/> It is classified under the [[subfamily (biology)|subfamily]] [[Caninae]] of the canid [[family (biology)|family]] [[Canidae]]. Although it has previously been assigned to its own [[Monotypic taxon|monotypic]] [[genus]] ''Alopex'', recent [[genetics|genetic]] evidence now places it in the genus ''Vulpes'' along with the majority of other foxes.<ref name=msw3/><ref name=complete>{{cite journal|title=Building large trees by combining phylogenetic information: a complete phylogeny of the extant Carnivora (Mammalia)|journal=Biological Reviews |year=1999|first=O.R.P. |last=Bininda-Emonds |author2=Gittleman, J.L. |name-list-style=amp |author3=Purvis, A. |volume=74|issue=2|pages=143–175 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227622637 |doi=10.1017/S0006323199005307 |doi-broken-date=16 January 2025 |pmid=10396181 |citeseerx=10.1.1.328.7194 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415181742/http://www.researchgate.net/publication/227622637_Building_large_trees_by_combining_phylogenetic_information_a_complete_phylogeny_of_the_extant_Carnivora_(Mammalia)|archive-date=15 April 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

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                        |1='''Arctic fox'''<ref name="lindblad-toh2005">{{Cite journal | last1 = Lindblad-Toh | first1 = K. |last2 = Wade | first2 = C. M. | last3 = Mikkelsen | first3 = T. S. | last4 = Karlsson | first4 = E. K. | last5 = Jaffe |first5=D. B. | last6 = Kamal | first6 = M. | last7 = Clamp | first7 = M. | last8 = Chang | first8 = J. L. |last9=Kulbokas |first9 = E. J. | last10 = Zody | doi = 10.1038/nature04338 | first10 = M. C. | last11 = Mauceli | first11 = E. |last12=Xie | first12 = X. | last13 = Breen | first13 = M. | last14 = Wayne | first14 = R. K. | last15=Ostrander |first15=E. A. | last16 = Ponting | first16 = C. P. | last17 = Galibert | first17 = F. | last18 = Smith |first18 = D. R. |last19=Dejong | first19 = P. J. | last20 = Kirkness | first20 = E. | last21 = Alvarez | first21 = P. |last22 = Biagi |first22=T. | last23 = Brockman | first23 = W. | last24 = Butler | first24 = J. | last25 = Chin | first25 = C. W. |last26=Cook | first26 = A. | last27 = Cuff | first27 = J. | last28 = Daly | first28 = M. J. | last29 = Decaprio |first29=D. |last30 = Gnerre | first30 = S. | display-authors = 1 |title=Genome sequence, comparative analysis and haplotype structure of the domestic dog |journal = Nature | volume = 438 | issue = 7069 | pages = 803–819 | year = 2005 |pmid=16341006 | bibcode = 2005Natur.438..803L | doi-access = free}}</ref>{{rp|at=Fig. 10}}
                        |2=[[Kit fox]]
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                     |2=[[Swift fox]]<ref name="audet"/>
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         |2=[[Raccoon dog]]
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It was originally described by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'']] in 1758 as ''Canis lagopus''. The [[type specimen]] was recovered from [[Lapland (Sweden)|Lapland]], [[Sweden]]. The generic name ''vulpes'' is [[Latin]] for "fox".<ref name="lariviere">{{cite journal|author=Larivière, S. |year=2002|title=''Vulpes zerda''|journal=Mammalian Species |pages=1–5 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/714_Vulpes_zerda.pdf|doi=10.1644/1545-1410(2002)714<0001:VZ>2.0.CO;2|issue=714|s2cid=198968737 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223193851/http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/714_Vulpes_zerda.pdf|archive-date=23 December 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The specific name ''lagopus'' is derived from [[Ancient Greek]] λαγώς (''lagōs'', "[[hare]]") and πούς (''pous'', "foot"), referring to the hair on its feet similar to those found in cold-climate species of hares.<ref name="audet">{{cite journal|author1=Audet, A.M. |author2=Robbins, C.B. |author3=Larivière, S. |name-list-style=amp |year=2002|title=''Alopex lagopus''|journal=Mammalian Species |issue=713 |pages=1–10 |url=http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/713_Alopex_lagopus.pdf|doi=10.1644/1545-1410(2002)713<0001:AL>2.0.CO;2|s2cid=198969139 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608042809/http://www.science.smith.edu/departments/Biology/VHAYSSEN/msi/pdf/713_Alopex_lagopus.pdf|archive-date=8 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Looking at the most recent phylogeny, the Arctic fox and the red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') diverged approximately 3.17MYA. Additionally, the Arctic fox diverged from its sister group, the kit fox (''Vulpes macrotis''), at about 0.9MYA.<ref name="ReferenceF"/>

===Origins===
The origins of the Arctic fox have been described by the "out of Tibet" hypothesis. On the [[Tibetan Plateau]], [[fossil]]s of the extinct ancestral Arctic fox (''[[Vulpes qiuzhudingi]]'') from the early Pliocene (5.08–3.6 MYA) were found along with many other precursors of modern mammals that evolved during the [[Pliocene]] (5.3–2.6 MYA). It is believed that this ancient fox is the ancestor of the modern Arctic fox. Globally, the Pliocene was about 2–3&nbsp;°C warmer than today, and the Arctic during the summer in the mid-Pliocene was 8&nbsp;°C warmer. By using stable carbon and oxygen [[isotope]] analysis of fossils, researchers claim that the Tibetan Plateau experienced tundra-like conditions during the Pliocene and harbored cold-adapted mammals that later spread to North America and Eurasia during the [[Pleistocene|Pleistocene Epoch]] (2.6 million-11,700 years ago).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Wang|first1=X. |author2=Wang, Y. |name-list-style=amp |author3=Li, Q. |author4=Tseng, Z.J. |author5=Takeuchi, G.T. |author6=Deng, T. |author7=Xie, G. |author8=Chang, M.M. |author9=Wang, N. |title=Cenozoic vertebrate evolution and paleoenvironment in Tibetan Plateau: Progress and prospects |journal=Gondwana Research |date=2015 |volume=27 |issue=4|pages=1335–1354 |doi=10.1016/j.gr.2014.10.014 |bibcode=2015GondR..27.1335W}}</ref>

===Subspecies===
[[File:Blue fox on St Paul Island by Ryan Mong USFWS.jpg|thumb|Blue phase, Pribilof Islands]]
Besides the nominate [[subspecies]], the common Arctic fox, ''V. l. lagopus'', four other subspecies of this fox have been described:
* [[Bering Sea#Islands|Bering]] Islands Arctic fox, ''V. l. beringensis''
* Greenland Arctic fox, ''V. l. foragoapusis''
* Iceland Arctic fox, ''V. l. fuliginosus''
* [[Pribilof Islands]] Arctic fox, ''V. l. pribilofensis''