A species’ common name can often be misleading . Koala bears aren’t bears, starfish aren’t fish, and the mountain chicken is actually a frog . So naturally, when we first heard the name “crab-eating foxes” ( Cerdocyon thous ), we were a little bit skeptical as to whether they really lived up to their moniker. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

We’ll start off where these animals fall down – they aren’t “true foxes”. That title only goes to canids belonging to the genus Vulpes , the group that includes the classic red fox, Arctic fox, and despite its bizarrely square head, the Tibetan fox too. It’s easy to see where the confusion comes from though; they have many features that are fox-like, including long, bushy t

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