V. zerda Skull Replica measures 3.5 inches. V. zerda Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Known as Fennec Fox.
The V. zerda or Sand Fox, is a small crepuscular fox found in the Sahara Desert of North Africa, the Sinai Peninsula, South East Israel (Arava desert) and the Arabian desert.
Fennec Fox or V. zerdas most distinctive feature is its unusually large ears, which also serve to dissipate heat. Fennec fox or Vulpes zerda name comes from the Berber-Arabic word (fanak), which means fox.
The Fennec Fox is the smallest species of canid. Its coat, ears, and kidney functions have adapted to high-temperature, low-water, desert environments.
The Fennec Fox is the smallest canid species. Females range in head-to-body size from 13.6 to 15.6 in. with a 9.1–9.8 in. long tail and 3.5–3.7 in. long ears, and weigh 2.2–4.2 lb. Males are slightly larger, ranging in head-to-body size from 15.4 to 15.6 in. with a 9.1–9.8 in. long tail and 3.9 in. long ears, weighing at least 2.9 lb.
The Fennec Fox skull is small in size, with a broad braincase and enlarged structures (Tympanic bullae are hollow, bony structures in the skull that enclose parts of the inner and middle ear. They are located on the ventral, posterior part of the skull.) below the ear holes. These structures help the fennec fox hear exceptionally well. Their snout is small, slender and delicate. They have small, slender and very sharp canines.
Its hearing is sensitive enough to hear prey moving underground. It mainly eats insects, small mammals, and birds.
Fennec Fox or V. zerda is an omnivore, feeding on small rodents, lizards, geckos, skinks, small birds and their eggs, fruits and also some tubers. It relies on the moisture content of prey, but drinks water when available.
They hunt alone and dig in the sand for small vertebrates and insects. Some individuals were observed to bury prey for later consumption and searching for food in the vicinity of human settlements.
Fennec Fox or V. zerda digs its den in sand, either in open areas or places sheltered by plants with stable sand dunes. In compacted soils, dens are up to 1,300 sq. ft. large, with up to 15 different entrances.
In some cases, different families interconnect their dens, or locate them close together. In soft, looser sand, dens tend to be simpler with only one entrance leading to a single chamber.
Females give birth between March and June to a litter of one to four pups that open their eyes after 8 to 11 days.
Both female and male care for the pups. V. zerda communicate by barking, purring, yapping and squeaking. Pups remain in the family even after a new litter is born. The pups are weaned at the age of 61 to 70 days.
The Fennec Fox has a life span of up to 14 years in captivity and about 10 years in the wild.