Fennec FoxA Fennec fox is the smallest fox in the world. These species of foxes are best known for their large ears, which are very useful in everyday life. Fennec foxes have many interesting characteristics that make them quite unique in the environment in which they live. These little animals are the smallest of all canids, which means dog in Latin. The Fennec, or desert fox, is an appropriate name for this little fox. Vulpes is the Latin name for fox and is the genus name of true foxes. Some people think that Fennecs are related to the Chihuahua, but this is not the case. Dogs have more chromosomes than foxes, making breeding a Fennec fox impossible. Others consider the Fennec fox to be a relative of the American kit fox or the African pale fox, which it is. This is what classifies it in the genus Vulpes. The classification of a Fennec fox becomes more elaborate and scientific. The classification of a Fennec fox, as the educational resource Exploring Nature says, belongs to the kingdom Animalia. It is a eukaryote because it is multicellular. The phylum and class are both Mammalia because these foxes are not cold-blooded, have fur, and reproduce their young internally. Its order falls under Carnivora because it eats other animals. Its family is Canine, so it comes under the Canidae. Genus and species are just the binomial nomenclature or name of the organism. Their genus is Vulpes and their species is Vulpes Zerda. There is a lot to know about animal classification and its history. The classification of animals is often called taxonomy. Taxonomy is defined as the practice and study of classifying things, including the principles underlying that classification. Taxonomy groups things according to their biological organisms based...... middle of paper ......x (Vulpes zerda.) » WILDSCREEN, 2013, ARKive.az Animals. “Fennec Fox.” Az Animals, 2013, az AnimalsBiel, Timothy. Zoo books. Poway, California. : Wildlife Education, LTD, 2002. PrintDagg, Anie. “Fennec Fox.” World Book. 2005. 2005. PrintDams, R. 2004. "Vulpes zerda", Animal Diversity Web. 2014, National Science Foundation. “Krakow Zoo welcomes Fennec fox litter. » Animal Information Guide, 2009National Graphic. “Fennec Fox.” National Geographic, 2014, National Geographic Society. ZME Science. “Fennec Fox”, ZME science, 2013, ZME science.