Discovery of a continental population of the rare Darwin's fox, Dusicyon fulvipes (Martin, 1837) in Chile

Abstract

The rare Darwin's fox Dusicyon fulvipes (Martin, 1837) was thought to be restricted to Chiloé Island in southern Chile, and to be a subspecies of Dusicyon griseus. We report the finding of a continental population of D. fulvipes, 600 km north of its known insular ranges and in sympatry with D. griseus. We document for the first time the food habits of Darwin's fox, add new information on its morphometry, and discuss the systematic, zoogeographic and ecological implications of the discovery of the continental population.