Bat-Eared Fox Skull Replica

Description

Bat-Eared Fox Skull Replica measures 4.4 inches. Bat-Eared Fox Skull Replica is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in the USA. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum fox skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

Bat Eared Fox or Otocyon megalotis is a species of fox found on the African savanna, named for its large ears, which are used for thermoregulation. Although not commonly used, other vernacular names include big-eared fox, black-eared fox, long-eared fox, Delalande’s fox, and motlosi.

Fossil records show this canid first appeared during the middle Pleistocene, about 800,000 years ago.

Bat Eared Fox or Otocyon megalotis is considered a basal canid species, resembling ancestral forms of the family, It has also been called a Sub-Saharan African version of a Fennec Fox due to their huge ears.

Otocyon megalotis (also referred to as Delalande’s fox, long-eared fox, big-eared fox, and black-eared fox) has tawny fur with black ears, legs, and parts of the pointed face. It averages 22 in. in length (head and body), with ears 5.1 in. long.

Bat Eared Fox or Otocyon megalotis is predominantly an insectivore that uses its large ears to locate its prey. About 80 to 90 percent of their diet is harvester termites.

When this particular species of termite is not available, they feed on other species of termites and have also been observed consuming other arthropods such as ants, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, millipedes, moths, scorpions, spiders, and rarely birds, small mammals, reptiles, and fungi. The insects they eat fulfill the majority of their water intake needs.

This is a distinctive fox skull in several ways, with an elevated cranium and pronounced temporal ridges. Perhaps the most interesting feature is the dentition, this fox uniquely (among foxes) possessing 48 teeth. The molars and carnassials are reduced in size and simplified compared to other canids, probably as an adaptation to a largely insectivorous diet.

The teeth of the Bat Eared Fox or Otocyon megalotis are much smaller and reduced in shearing surface formation than teeth of other canid species. This is an adaptation to its insectivorous diet. Otocyon megalotis is an old species that was widely distributed in the Pleistocene era.

The teeth are not the Bat Eared Foxes only morphological adaptation for its diet. On the lower jaw, a step-like protrusion, called the subangular process, anchors the large digastric muscle to allow for rapid chewing. The digastric muscle is also modified to open and close the jaw five times per second.

During mating season, Bat-eared Foxes dig their dens to prepare babies (kits) to be born. The gestation period for bat-eared foxes is around 60-70 days. After this period, the female will give birth to 3-6 kits.

Young Bat-eared Foxes disperse and leave their family groups at 5 to 6 months old and reach sexual maturity at 8 to 9 months. Bat-eared Foxes have been recorded reaching maximum lifespans of 14 to 17 years in captivity and up to 9 years in the wilderness.

Bat-Eared Fox Facts:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Subfamily: Caninae
Genus: Otocyon
Species: O. megalotis
Binomial name: Otocyon megalotis
Conservation status: Least concern

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