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Created page with "{{Taxonomy |name=Bat-eared fox |image= |caption= |domain=Eukaryota |kingdom=Animalia |subkingdom=Bilateria |branch=Deuterostomia |superphylum= |phylum=Chordata |subphylum=Ver..."
{{Taxonomy
|name=Bat-eared fox
|image=
|caption=
|domain=Eukaryota
|kingdom=Animalia
|subkingdom=Bilateria
|branch=Deuterostomia
|superphylum=
|phylum=Chordata
|subphylum=Vertebrata
|infraphylum=Gnathostomata
|microphylum=
|superdivision=
|division=
|subdivision=
|superclass=Tetrapoda
|class=Mammalia
|subclass=Theriiformes
|infraclass=Holotheria
|superorder=Preptotheria
|order=Carnivora
|suborder=Caniformia
|infraorder=Cynoidea
|superfamily=
|families=
|family=Canidae
|subfamily=Caninae
|supertribe=
|tribe=Vulpini
|subtribe=
|genera=
|genus=Otocyon
|subgenus=
|species=O. megalotis
|binomialname=
|syn=
|sub=
|alt=
|regionimg=
|pop=Unknown (2014 est.)<ref>https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15642/46123809#population</ref>
|conservation=Least concern<ref>https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15642/46123809</ref>
}}
The '''bat-eared fox''' (''Otocyon megalotis''), also known as the '''big-eared''', '''black-eared''', or '''cape fox''', is a wild [[fox]] of the family Canidae, and found throughout much of eastern and southern Africa.
==Description==
The bat-eared fox is small, with a body length of 18 to 26 inches, a standing height at the shoulder of 12 to 16 inches, and a body weight of 7 to 12 pounds. They are a buff-brown in color, lightly-grizzled with gray. The legs, snout, and back stripe to the tip of the tail is a blackish-gray, as well as a "mask" surrounding the eyes to the mouth lining. The ears are very large with a white interior. Cubs are grayer in color, with smaller ears.
The animal was possibly named in reference to a species of [[bat]] (''Nycteris thebaica''), which also has very large ears and is common within that part of Africa.
===Subspecies===
*''Otocyon megalotis canescens''; southern Africa
*''Otocyon megalotis megalotis''; eastern Africa
==Range and habitat==
Bat-eared foxes live primarily in short-grass plains; they are also found within large areas characterized by scrub vegetation, bare ground, arid and semi-arid deserts and savannas<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250932601_Field_Observations_on_the_Behaviour_and_Social_System_of_the_Bat-eared_Fox_Otocyon_megalotis_Desmarest1</ref>. The northern subspecies is also found in open, taller-grassland of the Serengeti. Both subspecies have been known to have a range overlapping one of their primary food sources, the termites of genera ''Hodotermes'' and ''Microhodotermes''.
==Diet==
Termites form a large amount of their diet, so much so that they are considered an effective means of termite control<ref>https://www.canids.org/canidnews/6/Bat-eared_fox_diet_in_South_Africa.pdf</ref>. in addition, they also prey upon other insects, small vertebrates, such as rodents, lizards, and frogs, birds eggs, and occasionally plants.
==Threats==
The ICUN classifies the bat-eared fox as "least concern", due to the species' extensive range and large population. However, it is still prosecuted to some extent; farmers consider it to be a threat to small livestock<ref>http://files.webb.uu.se/uploader/858/MFS-113kurberg-linda.pdf</ref>, and occasionally they are killed for the skins. Rabies is also a threat, as the disease will cause an immediate, localized population drop<ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7777325/</ref><ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7777327/</ref>.
==References==
<small><references/></ref>
|name=Bat-eared fox
|image=
|caption=
|domain=Eukaryota
|kingdom=Animalia
|subkingdom=Bilateria
|branch=Deuterostomia
|superphylum=
|phylum=Chordata
|subphylum=Vertebrata
|infraphylum=Gnathostomata
|microphylum=
|superdivision=
|division=
|subdivision=
|superclass=Tetrapoda
|class=Mammalia
|subclass=Theriiformes
|infraclass=Holotheria
|superorder=Preptotheria
|order=Carnivora
|suborder=Caniformia
|infraorder=Cynoidea
|superfamily=
|families=
|family=Canidae
|subfamily=Caninae
|supertribe=
|tribe=Vulpini
|subtribe=
|genera=
|genus=Otocyon
|subgenus=
|species=O. megalotis
|binomialname=
|syn=
|sub=
|alt=
|regionimg=
|pop=Unknown (2014 est.)<ref>https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15642/46123809#population</ref>
|conservation=Least concern<ref>https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/15642/46123809</ref>
}}
The '''bat-eared fox''' (''Otocyon megalotis''), also known as the '''big-eared''', '''black-eared''', or '''cape fox''', is a wild [[fox]] of the family Canidae, and found throughout much of eastern and southern Africa.
==Description==
The bat-eared fox is small, with a body length of 18 to 26 inches, a standing height at the shoulder of 12 to 16 inches, and a body weight of 7 to 12 pounds. They are a buff-brown in color, lightly-grizzled with gray. The legs, snout, and back stripe to the tip of the tail is a blackish-gray, as well as a "mask" surrounding the eyes to the mouth lining. The ears are very large with a white interior. Cubs are grayer in color, with smaller ears.
The animal was possibly named in reference to a species of [[bat]] (''Nycteris thebaica''), which also has very large ears and is common within that part of Africa.
===Subspecies===
*''Otocyon megalotis canescens''; southern Africa
*''Otocyon megalotis megalotis''; eastern Africa
==Range and habitat==
Bat-eared foxes live primarily in short-grass plains; they are also found within large areas characterized by scrub vegetation, bare ground, arid and semi-arid deserts and savannas<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250932601_Field_Observations_on_the_Behaviour_and_Social_System_of_the_Bat-eared_Fox_Otocyon_megalotis_Desmarest1</ref>. The northern subspecies is also found in open, taller-grassland of the Serengeti. Both subspecies have been known to have a range overlapping one of their primary food sources, the termites of genera ''Hodotermes'' and ''Microhodotermes''.
==Diet==
Termites form a large amount of their diet, so much so that they are considered an effective means of termite control<ref>https://www.canids.org/canidnews/6/Bat-eared_fox_diet_in_South_Africa.pdf</ref>. in addition, they also prey upon other insects, small vertebrates, such as rodents, lizards, and frogs, birds eggs, and occasionally plants.
==Threats==
The ICUN classifies the bat-eared fox as "least concern", due to the species' extensive range and large population. However, it is still prosecuted to some extent; farmers consider it to be a threat to small livestock<ref>http://files.webb.uu.se/uploader/858/MFS-113kurberg-linda.pdf</ref>, and occasionally they are killed for the skins. Rabies is also a threat, as the disease will cause an immediate, localized population drop<ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7777325/</ref><ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7777327/</ref>.
==References==
<small><references/></ref>