The Ice;
The Foxes that did not migrate with the growing tundra during the ice age also made many adaptations. These Foxes became the Ice Foxes of the North. The reason that they became known as the Ice Foxes is that the fox would use its long and powerful claws to burrow out a cavern in the glacial ice, practically creating a village on a standing wall over time. The push for this was that during the ice age, the ground became solid with permafrost, and the Fox was unable to penetrate the frozen soil and rocks. But, the Fox was able to scrape away ice from the sides of glaciers in order to create a small cave.
These adaptations included a larger body with a coat that stays white year-round. This coat was caused due to the expanding snow and ice biomes causing a constant 'winter' season, meaning that the Fox no longer needed to change fur color. The coat also became more dense across the Fox's body, including the bottom of its paws.
Also, the Ice Fox developed long, muscular legs that it uses to chase and capture Lemmings, its prey. The pressures that influenced the Ice Fox's for long, muscular legs were that because its prey, the lemming, had become larger and faster, the fox had to develop to change its hunting strategy from pouncing on the prey from above the snow, to overtaking its prey in a chase.
The Ice Fox also adapted to slow its metabolism in order to retain fat to support its large body. This adaptation was pressured unto the Ice Fox in that the smaller foxes were not surviving in this new and much colder climate. This meant that the larger foxes of a litter were the ones to survive, therefore, the Foxes adapted to having a larger body mass. This also contributed to the fox's need to retain more body fat, in which a slower metabolism was needed to sustain this necessary increase in fat. This was overall necessary for the fox's survival in that food became scarce for around a million years, causing the fox to need to retain more energy that it used.
These adaptations included a larger body with a coat that stays white year-round. This coat was caused due to the expanding snow and ice biomes causing a constant 'winter' season, meaning that the Fox no longer needed to change fur color. The coat also became more dense across the Fox's body, including the bottom of its paws.
Also, the Ice Fox developed long, muscular legs that it uses to chase and capture Lemmings, its prey. The pressures that influenced the Ice Fox's for long, muscular legs were that because its prey, the lemming, had become larger and faster, the fox had to develop to change its hunting strategy from pouncing on the prey from above the snow, to overtaking its prey in a chase.
The Ice Fox also adapted to slow its metabolism in order to retain fat to support its large body. This adaptation was pressured unto the Ice Fox in that the smaller foxes were not surviving in this new and much colder climate. This meant that the larger foxes of a litter were the ones to survive, therefore, the Foxes adapted to having a larger body mass. This also contributed to the fox's need to retain more body fat, in which a slower metabolism was needed to sustain this necessary increase in fat. This was overall necessary for the fox's survival in that food became scarce for around a million years, causing the fox to need to retain more energy that it used.