Taxonomy
Vulpes lagopus is a 'true fox' belonging to the genus Vulpes of the fox tribe Vulpini. It is classified under the subfamily Caninae of the canid family Canidae. Although it has previously been assigned to its own monotypic genus Alopex, recent genetic evidence now places it in the genus Vulpes with the majority of the other foxes. It is closely related to the swift fox (Vulpes velox).
It was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758 as Canis lagopus. The type specimen was recovered from Lapland, Sweden. The generic name vulpes is Latin for "fox". The specific name lagopus is derived from Ancient Greek λαγως (lagos, "hare") and πους (pous, "foot"), referring to the hair on its feet similar to those found in cold-climate species of hares.
Read more about this topic: Arctic Fox