Pampas fox

The Pampas fox (Lycalopex gymnocercus), also known as grey pampean fox, Pampas zorro, Azara's fox, or Azara's zorro (in Guaraní also called aguará chaí, anglicized as aguarachay, in Portuguese also called graxaim ([ɡɾaʃaˈĩ]), is a medium-sized zorro, or "false" fox, native to the South American Pampas. Azara in some of its alternative common names is a reference to Spanish naturalist Félix de Azara.

The Pampas fox resembles the culpeo or Andean fox in appearance and size, but has a proportionately wider snout, reddish fur on the head and neck, and a black mark on the muzzle. Its short, dense fur is grey over most of the body, with a black line running down the back and onto the tail, and pale, almost white, underparts. The ears are triangular, broad, and relatively large, and are reddish on the outer surface and white on the inner surface. The inner surfaces of the legs are similar in color to the underparts, while the outer surface is reddish on the fore limbs, and grey on the hind limbs; the lower hind limb also bears a distinctive black spot. Adults range from 51 to 80 cm (20 to 31 in) in body length, and weigh 2.4 to 8.0 kg (5.3 to 17.6 lb); males are about 10% heavier than females.

In the northern part of its range, the pampas fox is more richly colored than in the southern part.

The Pampas fox can be found primarily in northern and central Argentina, Uruguay, eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, and southern Brazil. It prefers open pampas habitats, often close to agricultural land, but can also be found in montane or chaco forest, dry scrubland, and wetland habitats. It is most common below 1,000 m (3,300 ft) elevation, but can inhabit puna grasslands up to 3,500 m (11,500 ft).

Five subspecies of L. gymnocercus are generally recognized as of 2005:^[update]

An earlier (1982) taxonomical revision recognized only L. g. antiquus and L. g. gymnocercus, along with the otherwise unaccepted subspecies L. g. lordi (Massoia, 1982:149), which is restricted to the Chaco-Yungas Mountain Tropical Forest in Salta and Jujuy Provinces. That revision classified L. g. domeykoanus, L. g. gracilis, and L. g. maullinicus as subspecies of L. griseus, in part due to their falling outside the known present range of L. gymnocercus.

Fossils of this species are known from the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene in Argentina.

In the Spanish-speaking areas of its habitat, the Pampas fox is known by the common names of zorro de las pampas or zorro gris pampeano. In Portuguese-speaking Brazil, it is called by the common names of graxaim or sorro.