Vulpes macrotis Skull Replica measures 4.5 inches. Vulpes macrotis Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Known as Kit Fox.
The Kit fox or Vulpes macrotis mutica is a fox species of North America. Its range is primarily in the Southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It usually has a gray coat, with rusty tones, and a black tip to its tail.
Unlike the gray fox, it does not have a stripe along the length of its tail. Its color ranges from yellowish to gray, and the back is usually darker than the majority of its coat; its belly and inner ears are usually lighter. It has distinct dark patches around the nose. The Kit fox or Vulpes macrotis mutica is mostly a nocturnal animal, but sometimes ventures out of its den during the day.
It usually goes out to hunt shortly after sunset, mostly eating small animals such as kangaroo rats, cottontail rabbits, black-tailed jackrabbits, meadow voles, hares, prairie dogs, insects, lizards, snakes, fish, and ground-dwelling birds. It will scavenge carrion.
While primarily carnivorous, if food is scarce, it has been known to eat tomatoes, cactus fruits and other fruits. Different kit fox families can occupy the same hunting grounds, but do not generally go hunting at the same time.
The Kit fox or Vulpes macrotis mutica experiences a very interesting, but rare, tooth malformation that causes Bigeminy: a heart rhythm problem. This is caused by the fusion of a maxillary third premolar tooth and an adjoining supernumerary tooth which makes a single tooth with two cusps and three roots.
Kit fox or Vulpes macrotis mutica favor arid climates, such as desert scrub, chaparral, and grasslands. Good examples of common habitats are sagebrush.
They can be found in urban and agricultural areas, too. They are found at elevations 1,300 to 6,200 ft. above sea level. The average lifespan of a wild Kit fox or Vulpes macrotis mutica is 5.5 years.
Dens are used during the year for daytime resting, escaping predators, avoiding extreme heat, preserving moisture, and carrying and rearing young.
Kit Foxes will dig their own dens, but they can also modify and use the burrows of badgers, ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and kangaroo rats.
Dens are spread across the home range, and an individual fox usually uses more than 11 dens in a given year. They normally rest in their dens during the day, but sometimes can emerge to bask and, when pups are young, to play.
