# Crab-eating fox (*Cerdocyon thous*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/crab-eating-fox  
Data as of: 2026-11-13

The crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) is a mammal in the family Canidae, order Carnivora, also called the wood fox, forest fox, savannah fox, common zorro and crab-eating zorro. It is a medium-sized, nocturnal and terrestrial carnivore, with an adult body mass of 5.24 kg and up to 5.742 kg. Gestation lasts 56.31 days, litters hold 4 young, there are 1.9 litters per year, and sexual maturity comes at 275 days. Its lifespan is 11.5 years, up to 12.7 years, and the IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 5.24 kg – 5.74 kg |
| Length | 64.3 cm |
| Lifespan | 11.5 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 12.7 years |
| Main food | arthropods, vertebrates |
| Habitat | forest, grassland, woodland |
| Gestation | 56.3 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4 |
| Age at maturity | 9.03 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.9 |
| Reproduction | Live birth |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Resting metabolic rate | 6.75 W – 10.2 W |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Carnivora
- family: Canidae
- genus: Cerdocyon
- species: *Cerdocyon thous* (Linnaeus, 1766)

Synonyms: *Canis thous*, *Dusicyon thous*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the crab-eating fox?

The crab-eating fox is a mammal in the family Canidae, order Carnivora, suborder Caniformia.

### How heavy is the crab-eating fox?

An adult Crab-eating fox weighs 5.24 kg, with weights up to 5.742 kg reported, placing it in the medium size class.

### What does the crab-eating fox eat?

The crab-eating fox is a carnivore.

### Is the crab-eating fox endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List lists the crab-eating fox as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the crab-eating fox live?

The crab-eating fox has a lifespan of 11.5 years, with values up to 12.7 years reported.

### How many young does the crab-eating fox have?

The crab-eating fox has 4 young per litter and 1.9 litters per year, after a gestation period of 56.31 days.

### Who named the crab-eating fox?

The scientific name Cerdocyon thous is attributed to (Linnaeus, 1766).

### Is the crab-eating fox nocturnal?

Yes. The crab-eating fox is nocturnal and terrestrial.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AnimalTraits: a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size](https://animaltraits.org/), CC0 1.0, 1.0.7. Herberstein, M.E., McLean, D.J., Lowe, E. et al. (2022) AnimalTraits: a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size. Scientific Data 9: 265. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01364-9. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6468938
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/crab-eating-fox