First record of leucism in a crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) from the Atlantic Forest hotspot

Abstract

Leucism has been increasingly reported in mammals, but there are still few records for canids. Here, we report the first record of a leucistic crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous) from Atlantic Forest in the southern Brazil. The region possesses savanna relics immersed into the Atlantic Forest domain and is characterized by large crops and habitat loss. This coloration morph is a very rare recessive and can be influenced by selection under certain environmental characteristics. Anthropic factors may be isolating local populations and be playing a role in inducing the appearance of this pigmentation variant in natural populations of this wild canid.