Audubon cottontail rabbit

Audubon cottontail rabbit
	Audubon cottontail rabbit ( Sylvilagus audubonii )
Systematics
Subclass :	Higher mammals (Eutheria)
Superordinate :	Euarchontoglires
Order :	Hare-like (Lagomorpha)
Family :	Hares (Leporidae)
Genre :	Cottontail Rabbit ( Sylvilagus )
Type :	Audubon cottontail rabbit
Scientific name
	Sylvilagus audubonii
	( Baird , 1858)

The Audubon cottontail rabbit ( Sylvilagus audubonii ) is a species of mammal from the genus of cottontail rabbits within the hare-like species . It lives in deserts and other arid regions in the southwestern United States and Mexico.

features

The Audubon cottontail rabbit is a relatively large species of the genus, weighing around 1000 grams. The back color and the tail are gray, the belly side is colored white. It has long ears that are only slightly hairy on the inside. The feet are also only slightly hairy.

distribution

Distribution area of the Audubon cottontail rabbit

The range of the Audubon cottontail rabbit includes the western United States as well as large parts of Mexico. It ranges from northern Montana near the Canadian border through the western and central states of the United States to central Mexico. The western border forms the Pacific Ocean in California and Baja California , to the east the area extends over the Great Plains to Texas , Oklahoma , Kansas , Nebraska as well as North and South Dakota . In Mexico, the distribution area includes the Baja California Sur , most of Sonora and Chihuahua , Coahuila , Nuevo León , western Tamaulipas , San Luis Potosi , Zacatecas , Aguascalientes , eastern Durango , north of Sinaloa , in addition to the Baja California northeast Jalisco , the north of Guanajuato and Queretaro , Hidalgo , Tlaxcala , Puebla and a small part of western Veracruz .

The species inhabits deserts and other dry regions as habitats, but it also occurs in forest and grasslands. The altitude distribution extends from sea level and below it in Death Valley to areas of more than 1,800 meters.

Way of life

The Audubon cottontail rabbit is mostly active in the evening and early morning, and is mostly dormant during the hottest times of the day. It is a loner, but can also appear in larger numbers. It is able to climb trees and uses ridges and tree stumps as lookout points.

The mating season usually begins in December or January and lasts for seven to nine months. It varies from region to region and depends on temperatures and other factors. The litters consist on average of two to four young animals and are therefore rather small compared to other species of the genus.

Systematics

Audubon Cottontail Rabbit in Anza Borrego State Park

The Audubon cottontail rabbit is assigned to the cottontail rabbit (genus Sylvilagus ) as an independent species . Depending on the source, up to twelve subspecies are described:

Sylvilagus audubonii arizonae
S. a. audubonii
S. a. minor
S. a. baileyi
S. a. confinis
S. a. sanctidiegi
S. a. goldmani
S. a. parvulus
S. a. cedrophilus
S. a. neomexicanus
S. a. vallicola
S. a. warreni

Hazard and protection

The Audubon cottontail rabbit is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as least concern due to the size of the population and the large area of distribution. It is a generalist both in its diet and in terms of populated habitats, and no decline in populations is known.

supporting documents

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Joseph A. Chapman, John EC Flux (Ed.): Rabbits, Hares and Pikas. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. (PDF file; 10.74 MB) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Gland 1990; Pp. 97-99. ISBN 2-8317-0019-1 .

^ ^A ^b Joseph A. Chapman, Gale R. Willner: Sylvilagus audubonii . In: Mammalian Species . tape 106 , 1978, pp. 1–4 ( full text (PDF file; 463 kB)). Full text ( Memento of the original from April 8, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Sylvilagus audubonii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: Mexican Association for Conservation and Study of Lagomorphs (AMCELA) Romero Malpica, FJ & H. Rangel Cordero, 2008. Accessed June 10, 2012.

literature

Joseph A. Chapman, John EC Flux (Eds.): Rabbits, Hares and Pikas. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. (PDF file; 10.74 MB) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Gland 1990; Pp. 97-99. ISBN 2-8317-0019-1 .
Joseph A. Chapman, Gale R. Willner: Sylvilagus audubonii . In: Mammalian Species . tape 106 , 1978, pp. 1–4 ( full text (PDF file; 463 kB)).

Web links

Commons : Sylvilagus audubonii - collection of images, videos and audio files

Sylvilagus audubonii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: Mexican Association for Conservation and Study of Lagomorphs (AMCELA) Romero Malpica, FJ & H. Rangel Cordero, 2008. Accessed June 10, 2012th

[Chapman_&_Flux-1] Joseph A. Chapman, John EC Flux (Ed.): Rabbits, Hares and Pikas. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. (PDF file; 10.74 MB) International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), Gland 1990; Pp. 97-99. ISBN 2-8317-0019-1 .