Finding out the Red Fox's Historical Journey

In the article I read veterinary scientists used genetics to track the evolutionary history of the red fox. This was the first time the Y-chromosome was used in tracking the red fox's history. What they found out from their research was that all red fox's share one common ancestor from the middle east. They also found that they have diverged into two separate species. The North American red foxes and the Eurasian foxes have been reproductively separated for about 500,000 years now, and about 50,000 years ago North American red foxes evolved into their own separate species!

I found this article very interesting. It is amazing to me how one piece of genetic information can lead you to figure out something so complex. Also, the theory of evolution has always been such an interesting topic to me and I love animals so naturally as soon as I saw this article I was enthralled!