This small fox lives in dry coastal areas from northwestern Ecuador to Peru. It is nocturnal; food records from northern Peru include fruit and small animals.
A study of the Peruvian coast describes this fox as small compared with other mammals in the study region. It does not detail coat color or markings.
During the 2021–2022 dry season, researchers GPS-tracked four female Sechuran foxes in Peru’s Sechura Desert. Two lived near the Mangroves of San Pedro de Vice and two in Illescas National Reserve. The team compared each fox’s home range, vegetation use, and activity across the day and night.
The 95% Kernel home ranges measured 0.6 and 1 km² at San Pedro de Vice and 3.5 and 25.1 km² at Illescas. The first site’s foxes used dry forest most; those at Illescas used desert scrub most. All four were active during both day and night, with more activity at night. The study identified dry forest and desert scrub as important resource habitats for this fox.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
The two foxes at San Pedro de Vice used dry forest most, while the two at Illescas used desert scrub most. The authors identified both vegetation types as important resource habitats.