The Sechuran fox (Lycalopex sechurae), also called the Peruvian desert fox or the Sechuran zorro, is a small South American species of canid closely related to other South American "false" foxes or zorro. It gets its name for being found in the Sechura Desert in northwestern Peru. Before it was classified under Lycalopex, the Sechuran fox was classed under the Dusicyon genus established by Oldfield Thomas in 1914, and was later moved to the Pseudalopex (meaning "false fox") genus by A. Langguth in 1975.
The Sechuran fox is one of the many canid species that evolved from the ancestral canid(s) in the Miocene era. Through the rapid radiation of South American canids,
The species has 74 chromosomes.
Distribution and habitat
First identified in the Sechura Desert, the fox inhabits arid environments in southwestern Ecuador and western Peru, at elevations from sea level to at least , and possibly much higher. Within this region it has been reported from the western foothills of the Andes down to the coast, inhabiting deserts, dry forests, and beaches. There are no recognised subspecies.
Evolution
While more studies are required to understand the complete lineage of this species, it has been proposed that the most recent ancestor of the Lycalopex genus was Dusicyon australis (or the Falkland Islands wolf) which went extinct in 1876.
Several fossils of Sechuran foxes are known from the late Pleistocene of Ecuador and Peru, close to the modern range. Genetic analysis suggests that the closest living relative of the Sechuran fox is Darwin's fox, which is native to Chile.
Multiple studies The Sechuran fox was the second out of the six Lycalopex species to diverge from its sister taxon approximately 1.3 million years after the first canid species arrived. The ancestor to the Lycalopex genus is believed to be the Falkland Islands wolf (Dusicyon australis) It is theorized that the main ancestral lineage that migrated from North America split into two, one migrating out east of the Andes, and one going west of the Andes. This climate change is believed to have altered habitable areas of some species.
The fox is an opportunistic feeder, and its diet varies widely depending on the season and local habitat. It has been found to feed on seed pods, especially those of the shrub Prosopis juliflora and of caper bushes, as well as the fruit of Cordia and mito plants, and is capable of surviving on an entirely herbivorous diet when necessary. More commonly, however, it also eats insects, rodents, bird eggs, and carrion as a part of its diet. It can probably survive for long periods of time without drinking, subsisting on the water in its food.
Sechuran foxes are common in Ecuador. They have been known to prey on local livestock, such as chickens, and are hunted both to reduce such attacks and so that their body parts can be used in local handicrafts, folk medicine, or magical rituals.