Valley coyote
subspecies of mammal
The valley coyote (Canis latrans ochropus), also known as the ochraceous-footed coyote, San Joaquin Valley coyote, or California valley coyote, is a subspecies of coyote endemic to the environs of the San Joaquin Valley in California. Their population occurs in California west of the Sierra Nevada, except in the northern section.
Taxonomy
The valley coyote was first described in 1829 by Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz. It was the second subspecies of coyote to be named behind the plains coyote.
The specific name "ochropus" is derived from Ancient Greek okhros, "ocher", and pous, "foot", hence the alternative name ochraceous-footed coyote. Other names for the valley coyote include the San Joaquin Valley coyote and California Valley coyote.
Evolution
The valley coyote is most likely to be the direct descendant of the Pleistocene coyote, since the type specimen of the Pleistocene coyote shares a few, slight differences from the valley coyote. In addition, most Pleistocene coyote finds have been found in Southern California, where modern valley coyotes can be found.
Range and distribution
The valley coyote is found to the west of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and is commonly found throughout the foothills and valleys near that area.
Attacks on humans
As is with other coyote subspecies, valley coyotes seldom attack humans and such cases are extremely rare.
The public source identifies “Valley coyote” as subspecies of mammal. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Valley, coyote and subspecies.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Valley coyote”, the useful work is to connect “subspecies of mammal” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q11911981. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1829.
Scientific names, classifications and consensus can change while older terminology persists in catalogues and historical literature. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Valley coyote” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.