So I tried to delete the tag "canine" from a post I uploaded not long ago of a fox, but it won't let me. What gives? Foxes are NOT canine. Is there some kind of autotag thing going on or something?

It's a tag implication, yes: see http://e621.net/tag_implication?query=canine

Foxes are definitely canine, though (members of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canidae family), so the implication should be fine.

cetetic said:
It's a tag implication, yes: see http://e621.net/tag_implication?query=canine

Foxes are [...] (members of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canidae family), so the implication should be fine.

Shouldn't that be 'Canid' rather than 'Canine' ('Vulpine' is OK though) to be more taxonomically correct?
It might at least avoid a bit of confusion.

No, "canine" (subfamily Caninae) includes foxes (Vulpis) and all other living canids.

(There used to be non-canine canids, but they're all extinct - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canidae#Eocene_epoch - hence "canid" and "canine" are generally synonyms outside of paleontology.)

cetetic said:
(There used to be non-canine canids, but they're all extinct - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canidae#Eocene_epoch - hence "canid" and "canine" are generally synonyms outside of paleontology.)

Ah, enlightenment.

Yeah, "canine" is a bit incorrect in the common usage, and a bit loose in the scientific one. I'm more in favour of the common usage, and not using funky derived words like "equid", or "canid"; I'd quite like people to be able to tag without an advanced knowledge of scientific Greek or Latin :(

Quick Q: is an "equine" in Equini or Equinae, Equus or Equidae? Quick A: it doesn't matter. Horsecock.

There's a case for using canine/feline for "looks like a dog/cat but I'm not sure which one", and not faffing around with domestic_dog or domestic_cat to cover the corner case.

Also http://www.e621.net/forum/show/274