Cameron: I supposed getting a sort of accurate number would depend on whether or not your are separating by species. Arctics and Fennecs are largely categorized as separate species, but still, classify colors using the general morphs, hence how you can separately categorize a white fox morph, and an arctic fox morph even though they are functionally the same. That prospect alone makes in hard to kinda pen down a hard number on all the possible colors you can find among foxes, but then you have the fact that a pelt can change color based on climate, seasonal or other factors throughout the years regardless of the species. Then there are of course cross-species foxes like your friend to talk about...Which just make thye whole thing that much more confusing...
Val: Dad, you're rambling...
Cameron: I'm not rambling, I'm merely educating you and the mammal asking the question on just how complex morph families among the vulpes species can be. Granted in the case of Val and myself...well me to a lesser extent, we are the most common color of red morph, orange.
Val: What do you mean, 'too a lesser extent' when you're talking about your own fur? You look pretty orange to me.
Cameron: My pelt is also considered part of the red morph family, but instead of being a simple orange morph like Val's is, it's actually a sort of deeper, more vibrant red referred to as 'fire'. This specific color is rarer, and its origins can be traced back to grussian red foxes, which is where a majority of my side of the family comes from if you go back far enough.
Val: Pfft...lame...I want a cooler pelt color too...
Cameron: Hey, it may have been the standard, but that was your mother's pelt color too, and I happen to think it's very cool.
Val: Pftt...sure...What about you slick?
Nick: Oh, I was waiting for my time to chime in. *Chuckles* I'm afraid I'm in the same boat as you are kid, standard red morph here, and same for my mother, though I do know quite a few vixens who are sporting pelts from the white morph family.
Judy: Quite a few eh? *Glares at Nick.
Nick: Oh hush, you know Skye, and Wade's partner from the Tundratown district. And those relationships are all above board, you know that.
Judy: And these are all still considered red foxes? So where do Arctic foxes come in?
Nick: Well, I'm pretty sure Skye and Finnick are considered 'Sandy Morphs', which are technically still Red Morphs, Although I think Wade's partner is purely a white morph.
Qali: Arctic Foxes are techincally their own species, like Fennecs. But while a majority of arctic foxes sport a 'white morph' like me and my sister Matsa, there are a bunch of arctic foxes sporting what we call a 'Blue Phase Morph', like my younger sister Auniq. Despite the name, a Blue Phase has a pelt that appears almost black or charcoal colored all year round. It's a rare morph, and it's also exclusive to Artic Foxes.
Cameron: Interesting, I don't think I've ever met a real blue morph arctic fox before. Closest I've come to meeting a fox with a pure black morph was Val's great uncle on her mother's side.
Val: Grunkle Silas? The guy who worked the steam train?
Cameron: The the same. Marian used to joke that the family could never tell whether or not he still had soot on his fur from the job. *chuckles* All you could make on in the dark was his eyes, and that garish golden fang he had put in.
Nick: In terms of just how rare your buddy's pelt is, I guess we'd need to see him. But you can more or less use the general morph categories to place him I think. Reds like me, and Val, are the more common Red fox Morph you'll run into on the street. Cameron's color is probably less rare, but I don't think most mammals outside of other foxes will pick up on that.
Cameron: Silas, and the other true Slivers and melanistic type phase foxes are rarer, although not the rarest. They are more common on this side of the world, and you're bound to meet a few of them in the colder districts. then there are of course grey morphs, which are less common here rather than in Roarope.
Nick: The white pelts, however, well I suppose they would be the rarest...although thanks to Zootopia housing a Tundra Climate, There are quite a few families of White and shades of luetcistic non-artic families that have settled down there.
Qali: You may not notice a difference between those foxes and the native arctics ones with a naked eye, especially if you are not a fox yourself, But arctic foxes are smaller than white morphs, and have stunted ears.
Cameron: And that's of course not even counting mutations...such as 'champagne' like my mother Aleta, (which is still technically a red morph) or...of course full on albino foxes, oh and let's not forget the lavender pelt, like Marian's great grandmother. And of course the Marble pelt. Which some of my younger cousins in Roarope sport, and which runs on my side. Marian's Grace, at this point it might just be easier to try to plot us all on some sort of color sheet to better help your friend out. But do tell him not to be discouraged. You are far from alone in terms of having a rather unique pelt. At the end of the day, the range is simply too vast to neatly count-out, so keep your chin up!
