SAN JOAQUIN KIT FOX. Vulpes macrotis mutica Merriam

Field characters.—Similar to Red Fox in general appearance, but size smaller; head and body 19 to 21 inches (480-540 mm.); tail 10 to 12 inches (260-310 mm.); ear 3 to 3-1/2 inches (80-93 mm.); weight 4 to 6 pounds (1800-2700 g.).⁶ Upper surface light grayish brown, grizzled with white; tail bushy, with end conspicuously black; under surface of body pale yellowish to white; inside of ears white.

Occurrence.—Reported from Dry Creek, north of Snelling. No specimen obtained by us in Yosemite section. Inhabits dry uncultivated prairie, living in burrows in the ground.

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⁶Measurements from specimens taken elsewhere in San Joaquin Valley.

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The San Joaquin Kit Fox, or "swift, "is an animal of the broad, open San Joaquin Valley, and it reaches the limit of its range at the beginning of the foothills. Only a narrow strip of territory typical of its range was included in our Yosemite section, and we did not succeed in trapping any specimens within it, but residents at both Snelling and Lagrange told us that the animals were formerly to be found in the open country lying between these two towns. Kit Foxes may still exist on parts of the dry rolling lands just below the foothills, for the country there, which has not yet been brought under cultivation, seems specially suited to their requirements. In other parts of the San Joaquin Valley, which like the Dry Creek region are pastured to cattle but otherwise unchanged by man, Kit Foxes are still to be found. Their requirements are met by the loose sandy soil in which they can make their burrows, and by the abundance of small game such as kangaroo rats, which affect similar situations.

The Kit Fox is more nearly related to the Red Fox than to the Gray Fox. It has the general form and scheme of marking observed in the former species, but the tip of its bushy tail is black instead of white as is that of the Red Fox, and its coloration generally is paler, more ashy, in tone, in keeping with the general color tone of its chosen environment.