Foxes and dogs are both canids. Can they successfully hybridize?

In some unofficial histories and secret tales, there arefoxes and dogs hybridizingto produce bizarre species. So can the two really hybridize successfully? According to relevant animal genetics data, dogs and foxes both belong to the canid family, and in theory they can also reproduce, but the offspring produced cannot continue to reproduce; gene pairing will be disrupted, and normal sperm and eggs cannot be formed. In addition, because foxes and dogs are not the same species, there is reproductive isolation, and there are no successful cases in real life.

Fox

Note: Canidae belongs to the vertebrates, Mammalia, Carnivora, and is 1 family, all of which are terrestrial types, with only a very few species occasionally climbing trees. There are 34 species of canids worldwide, divided into 12 genera. Canids include dogs, wolves, dholes, foxes, and others. Canids are one of the more successful carnivorous mammal groups on Earth. The canid family includes about 37 extant species of wolves, jackals, foxes, and other wild animals as well as domestic dogs. They are all carnivorous animals, and their body structure has evolved into a form particularly suited to a hunting lifestyle.

There are many differing opinions on the phylogenetic relationships among canid members and the division of subfamilies, and these opinions even differ greatly. Simply speaking, in terms of body size and habits, canids can be divided into the dog-like types, which are larger, more carnivorous, and can prey on relatively large prey, and the fox-like types, which are smaller, have a somewhat more omnivorous diet, and mainly prey on small animals.

Most species are active day and night, a few species are active at dawn and dusk, and only the genus Nyctereutes has the habit of hibernation. They are carnivorous, and occasionally also eat plant foods. Their reproductive capacity is strong, mostly 1 litter per year, with 2 to 13 young per litter. The fur of many species is precious, some species feed on rodents and play an important role in ecological balance, and some species harm livestock and poultry, causing serious losses to the animal husbandry industry. Wolves and foxes are carriers of multiple pathogenic bacteria and pose a certain danger to humans.

Dog

Wolves in the canid family are not only relatively large in size, but also have the habit of hunting prey in packs, so they can capture prey much larger than themselves and become one of the most powerful predators in northern regions. Other members of the same genus as the wolf include the coyote of North America, the red wolf, and several species of dholes (jackals) in Africa and southern and southeastern Asia. They are smaller than wolves and less fierce than wolves. The domestic dog also belongs to the same genus as the wolf and is a descendant of the wolf; there is no obvious reproductive isolation between them. Besides the wolf, the other two animals that hunt collectively are the African hunting dog (African wild dog) of Africa and the dhole (dhole, Asian wild dog) of Asia. Although they are smaller than wolves, they may be even more ferocious, and the African hunting dog may be the only purely carnivorous member of the canid family. The habits of small canids similar to foxes are more diverse. Typical foxes, such as the red fox widely distributed across Eurasia and North America, mainly feed on small vertebrates and also eat invertebrates, berries, bird eggs, and so on. The fennec fox of Africa basically limits its food to insects, mainly termites. The fennec fox is relatively distantly related to other canid members. The only canid member with relatively strong tree-climbing ability is the gray fox of North America, which often climbs trees. The raccoon dog of East Asia also occasionally climbs low trees. The raccoon dog can be seen in most areas of China, has an appearance between a fox and a raccoon, has a relatively omnivorous diet, and is also one of the canid members that eats the most plant foods.