Cottontail rabbit
| Cottontail rabbit | ||||||||||||
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Florida Cottontail ( Sylvilagus floridanus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Sylvilagus | ||||||||||||
| Gray , 1867 |
The cottontail rabbits ( Sylvilagus ) are a genus from the rabbit family (Leporidae). The 21 known species all live on the American continent, from southern Canada to northern Argentina .
description
(Of English: cottontail rabbit cottontail rabbits ) have its name from its tail, which in most species brown top and bottom bright white as cotton (Cotton closely.) Is colored. The rest of the fur is also gray-brown or reddish-brown on the top and white on the underside. The ears are of medium length compared to other rabbit species. These animals reach a head-torso length of 22 to 47 centimeters and a weight of 250 to 2700 grams, whereby the females are usually slightly larger than the males.
Way of life
Cottontail rabbits are captivating because of their large number of habitats. There are species that live in swamps and submerge in danger, as well as species that inhabit forests and bushland and even climb trees, as well as species in the desert and in mountainous regions. What they have in common is the need for coverage, especially in the form of low vegetation. These animals do not dig burrows, although they occasionally use the burrows of other animals or retreat in burrows or in thick undergrowth. Most species are crepuscular or nocturnal, but can sometimes also be observed during the day. They live mostly solitary and are active all year round.
food
Depending on their habitat, they feed on different plant materials, but most of them are grasses and herbs. In the cooler regions in winter, they also eat bark or twigs.
Reproduction
The mating season depends on the habitat: in the northern United States, for example, it is between February and September, in the tropics they can give birth all year round. The females throw several times a year, an average of three to four times, in exceptional cases up to eight times. The gestation period is between four and six weeks, depending on the species. The litter size averages between three and six pups, but can also include twelve newborns. Cottontail rabbits are born naked and blind, open their eyes after four to seven days and move out of the nest for the first time after two weeks. After four to five weeks, they are weaned. Most animals do not reproduce for the first time until they are two years old. The average life expectancy in the wild is estimated at fifteen months, the maximum age of an animal in captivity was nine years.
Systematics
External system
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Phylogenetic systematics of the
rabbits according to Matthee et al. 2004
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On the basis of molecular biological data, Conrad A. Matthee et al. In 2004 a cladogram was developed which shows the phylogenetic relationships of the genera within the hares to one another. Accordingly, the dwarf rabbit ( Brachylagus idahoensis ) is the sister species of the cottontail rabbit genus and forms a taxon with them . It has already been assigned to these in different systematics.
This group is faced with a taxon from four monotypical genera with the wild rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ), the bristle rabbit ( Caprolagus hispidus ), the Bushman hare ( Bunolagus monticularis ) and the Ryukyu rabbit ( Pentalagus furnessi ), while the real hare ( Lepus ) the Sister genus of the entire group represents.
The species
The systematics and the exact number of species of cottontail rabbits varies depending on the systematics considered and has not yet been conclusively clarified. While the genus according to Chapman and Flux 1990 contains 13 species, according to Wilson & Reader 2005 and the Handbook of the Mammals of the World 2016 there are 17 species each, although the allocation differs in some cases. The following list is based on the Handbook of the Mammals of the World from 2016 but also includes some more recent results:
- Sylvilagus andinus , native to the Andean regions of Ecuador, originally a subspecies of the Tapeti.
- Sylvilagus apollinaris occurs in the eastern Andes, originally a subspecies of the Tapeti.
- The swamp rabbit ( S. aquaticus ) is particularly adapted to the aquatic life. Its habitat is swamps and other humid habitats in the southern United States (from eastern Texas and Kansas to South Carolina ). It is an excellent swimmer and also hides from enemies by lying motionless in the water with only the tip of its nose poking out. The swamp rabbit is the largest representative of the cottontail rabbit; in contrast to the other species, the sexes are the same size. * The Audubon cottontail rabbit ( S. audubonii ) lives in deserts and other dry regions in the southwestern United States and Mexico.
- The shrub rabbit ( S. bachmani ) occurs in the western USA (in Oregon and California ) and on the Baja California peninsula . Its preferred habitat are bush-covered regions. It is a relatively small, steel gray colored species. It is astonishing to observe that this species even climbs on bushes.
- The tapeti or Brazilian cottontail ( S. brasiliensis ) is native from eastern Mexico to northern Argentina . It is predominantly an inhabitant of the tropical forests. In contrast to other species, it only gives birth once a year, the gestation period is six weeks longer and the litter size of only two is smaller than that of other cottontail rabbits.
- From the Mexican cottontail rabbit ( S. cunicularius ) which is a small area in southwestern Mexico inhabited, not much is known.
- The dice cottontail rabbit ( S. dicei ) is closely related to the Brazilian cottontail, it lives in Costa Rica and Panama and is considered threatened.
- The Florida cottontail ( S. floridanus ) occurs from eastern and central Canada and the United States to Colombia . It has the greatest diversity of habitats of all species and is found in deserts and steppes as well as in forests, swamps and near human settlements. Hefner's Florida cottontail ( S. floridanus hefneri ) was named in honor of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner and is considered a very rare subspecies.
- Sylvilagus fulvescens lives in the western and central Andes, originally a subspecies of the Tapeti.
- The Central American Tapeti ( Sylvilagus gabbi ) lives in Central America from Mexico to Panama and was originally assigned to the Tapeti, but delimited as an independent species in 2007.
- The Tres Marias cottontail rabbit ( S. graysoni ) is endemic to the Tres Marias Islands off the west coast of Mexico. Because of its small distribution area it is considered threatened.
- The Omilteme cottontail rabbit ( S. insonus ) is found only in a small area in the Mexican state of Guerrero . Few sightings of this species are known, it is considered to be critically endangered.
- A close relative is the San José shrub rabbit ( S. mansuetus ), which is only known from the island of San José east of the Baja California peninsula.
- The mountain cottontail rabbit ( S. nuttallii ) lives in mountainous regions in the northwestern United States.
- The species status of Sylvilagus obscurus from the Appalachians is controversial, it could also be a subspecies of the New England cottontail rabbit ; their habitat are mainly dense forests. Since its settlement area is becoming ever smaller and it only has a fragmented distribution area, it is considered endangered.
- The marsh rabbit ( S. palustris ) is sometimes also referred to as the marsh rabbit and resembles this in the way of life, but has a distribution area further east, namely the Atlantic coastal plain of the USA from Virginia to Florida .
- Sylvilagus parentum was described in 2017. The species occurs in Suriname.
- Texas cottontail rabbit ( S. robustus )
- Sylvilagus sanctaemartae , described by Philip Hershkovitz in 1950as an independent species, was considered a synonym for S. brasiliensis for a long time. In 2017 the species was recognized as valid again, other authors consider it to be identical to S. gabbi .
- The New England cottontail rabbit ( S. transitionalis ) is native to the eastern United States.
- The Venezuela cottontail rabbit ( S. varynaensis ) occurs only in the lowlands of central Venezuela.
The originally independent Manzano cottontail rabbit ( S. cognatus ) is no longer included in the 2016 Handbook of the Mammals of the World . Also Sylvilagus parentum and Sylvilagus sanctaemartae are not listed there, as they have been described only in 2017 or newly established.
threat
Cottontail rabbits have many natural enemies, including coyotes, foxes, weasels, birds of prey, and owls. They are also hunted by humans, partly as a sport, partly because of their meat or because they devastate fields. In some states of the USA they are considered the most popular game. In some regions, habitat loss is a threat. Four species are listed by the IUCN as endangered or threatened.
For the myxomatosis cottontail rabbits are - in contrast to the European wild rabbits - just not very receptive. At best, they show minor symptoms, but represent a natural reservoir of pathogens .
literature
- Genus Sylvilagus. In: SC Schai-Braun, K. Hackländer: Family Leporidae (Hares and Rabbits) In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editor): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, pp. 114–125. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0801857899
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Conrad A. Matthee, Bettine Jansen Van Vuuren, Diana Bell Terence J. Robinson: A Molecular Supermatrix of the Rabbits and Hares (Leporidae) Allows for the Identification of Five Intercontinental Exchanges During the Miocene. Systematic Biology 53 (3); Pp. 433-447. ( Abstract )
- ↑ Brachylagus idahoensis in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Submitted by: GP Beauvais, E. Sequin, J. Rachlow, R. Dixon, B. Bosworth, A. Kozlowski, C. Carey, P. Bartels, M. Obradovitch, T. Forbes, D. Hays, 2008. Retrieved on January 11, 2013.
- ↑ Joseph A. Chapman, John EC Flux (Eds.): Rabbits, Hares and Pikas. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. (PDF; 11.3 MB) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Gland 1990; P. 95 ff. ISBN 2-8317-0019-1 .
- ↑ Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Sylvilagus in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
- ↑ Genus Sylvilagus. In: SC Schai-Braun, K. Hackländer: Family Leporidae (Hares and Rabbits) In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (editor): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, pp. 114–125. ISBN 978-84-941892-3-4 .
- ↑ a b c Luis A. Ruedas, Sofia Marques Silva, Johnnie H. French, Roy Nelson Platt, II, Jorge Salazar-Bravo, Jose M. Mora, Cody W. Thompson: Taxonomy of the Sylvilagus brasiliensis complex in Central and South America (Lagomorpha: Leporidae). Journal of Mammalogy 100 (5), 2019, pp. 1599-1630. doi: 10.1093 / jmammal / gyz126
- ^ A b c Victor E. Diersing, Don E. Wilson: Systematic status of the rabbits Sylvilagus brasiliensis and S. sanctaemartae from northwestern South America with comparisons to Central American populations. Journal of Mammalogy 98 (6), 2017, pp. 1641-1656. doi: 10.1093 / jmammal / gyx133
- ↑ a b c Luis A. Ruedas: A new species of cottontail rabbit (Lagomorpha: Leporidae: Sylvilagus) from Suriname, with comments on the taxonomy of allied taxa from northern South America. Journal of Mammalogy 98 (4), 2017, pp. 1042-1059. doi : 10.1093 / jmammal / gyx048
- ↑ Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (eds.): Sylvilagus cognatus in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
- ↑ Rainer Holubek: A closed vaccination cover protects against myxomatosis and RHD. In: Rabbit Newspaper 5/2008