Blanford’s Fox

Blanford's fox (Vulpes cana) is a small fox native to West Asia, Central Asia and parts of South Asia. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. == Naming == Blanford's fox is named after the English naturalist William Thomas Blanford, who described it in 1877. It is also known as the Afghan fox, royal fox, dog fox, hoary fox, steppe fox, black fox, king fox (Persian: شاه‌روباه, romanized: shāhrūbāh), cliff fox or Balochistan fox. == Description == Blanford's fox is a small fox with wide ears and a long, bushy tail nearly equal to the length of its body. Its body size often varies geographically. In the Afghan-Iranian region, the collected specimens had head-body lengths of 38.5–80 cm (15.2–31.5 in) and tail lengths of 33–41 cm (13–16 in), while specimens in Oman had a total length of 73.5–76 cm (28.9–29.9 in) and a tail length of 35–36 cm (14–14 in). Weights of those specimens averaged 873 g (30.8 oz), body lengths 42 cm (17 in), tail 32.5 cm (12.8 in). Among all extant canids, only the fennec fox is smaller than Blanford's. The body is brownish-grey, fading to light yellow on the belly. The winter coat…