Espiritu Santo rabbit
| Espiritu Santo rabbit | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lepus insularis | ||||||||||||
| W. Bryant , 1891 |
The Espiritu Santo Hare ( Lepus insularis ) is a species of mammal belonging to the genus of the real hare within the lagoon group . It is endemic to Isla Espíritu Santo off the coast of Baja California Sur in the Gulf of California .
features
general characteristics
The Espiritu Santo Hare reaches an average head-trunk length of 57.4 centimeters and a tail length of 9.6 centimeters. The body weight is around 2.5 kilograms. The females are slightly larger than the males. The feet are on average 12.1 inches long and the ears 10.5 inches. These are slightly shorter than those of the donkey hare ( Lepus californicus ). In terms of overall size, the Espiritu Santo hare corresponds to the subspecies Lepus californicus martirensis of the donkey hare that occurs on the Baja California peninsula .
The body color is glossy black with a cinnamon-like scattering, the flanks are grayish. The head is also black-gray to black with some white hair in the middle of the crown and some gray hair around the eyes and ears. The ventral side is cinnamon to gray-brown. On the inside of the hind legs a black line runs from the toes to the heels, the soles of the feet are heavily padded.
Features of the skull
The skull of the Espiritu Santo hare is usually slightly larger compared to that of the donkey hare. Despite a comparable body size, it has a slightly larger brain skull than Lepus californicus martirensis . Further differences concern the narrower supraorbital processes as well as the more heavily developed zygomatic arches , which are stronger in the Espiritu Santo hare than in all subspecies of the donkey hare and also have a deep pit at the front end. The bullae are also larger. The overall appearance of the skull is more similar to that of Lepus californicus xanti (also common on Baja California), although it is somewhat smaller.
Genetic traits
The Espiritu Santo Hare has a diploid chromosome set of 2n = 48 chromosomes and does not differ in this from the related donkey hare . The autosome consists of four pairs of medium-sized metacentric , four pairs of small to large submetacentric, nine pairs of small to large telocentric, and six pairs of small to medium-sized telocentric chromosomes. There is also a medium-sized and submetacentric X chromosome and a small and telocentric Y chromosome .
distribution and habitat
The range of the Espiritu Santo Hare is limited to the Isla Espíritu Santo off the coast of Baja California Sur in the Gulf of California . The total area of the island and thus the maximum range of the species is accordingly 95 km 2 , the maximum height of the island is around 300 meters. This species was introduced on the nearby island of Pichilinque.
The species uses all habitats on the island, but is mainly found in the valleys and the flatter slopes of the mountains. The island itself is a volcanic island with no fresh water, characterized by stony hills and flat mountains. The hares live accordingly in desert-like, dry habitats with bushes of the genera Prosopis , Ambrosia and Acacia and cacti of the genera Pachycereus , Stenocereus and Opuntia as well as other drought-adapted plants.
Way of life
The animals are solitary and especially nocturnal. They spend most of the day in the shade under bushes. Like all rabbit species, they do not live in underground structures, but spend their rest phases in shallow troughs on the ground or in the vegetation. Because of their black color, they are very noticeable in the vegetation, even when they are motionless.
The island's only predator is the North American cat frett ( Bassariscus astutus ), which is likely to hunt young Espiritu Santo hares as well. There are also some species of birds of prey that hunt on the island.
nutrition
The Espiritu Santo Hare, like other hares, has a vegetarian diet and prefers grasses as food. It also feeds on the bark and fleshy parts of Stenocereus when no other food is available. Since there is no fresh water on the island, he gets all the water it needs from food.
Reproduction
The mating season of the Espiritu Santo Hare is in the milder season and therefore usually in the period from January to August. During this time there is rivalry between the males, which are fought with the front and rear legs. During the mating itself, the males can seriously injure the females.
The gestation period is 41 to 43 days and the females give birth to young two to three times a year in spring and summer. The litter size is three to four young animals. These are born in open nests above ground with a full coat of fur and open eyes as fleeing nests , so they are active immediately after birth. The lactation lasts only a few days, after which the young animals leave the mother.
Systematics
The Espiritu Santo hare was described in 1891 by the American zoologist Walter E. Bryant under the name Lepus insularis , which is still valid today . He described it in a preliminary description of the species with the title Preliminary description of a new species of the genus Lepus from Mexico in the Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences . A further description was given by MR Saint Loup in 1895 under the name Lepus edwardsi in the Bulletin Museo d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. Lepus edwardsi is accordingly a synonym for Lepus insularis .
The species status of the Espiritu Santo hare was questioned and it was assigned to the donkey hare ( Lepus californicus ) as a subspecies, but is now considered to be certain due to the clear skull features. It is closely related to the donkey hare ( Lepus californicus ), which occurs in several subspecies on the Baja california peninsula ( Lepus californicus martirensis , Lepus californicus xanti ) and on the neighboring islands ( Lepus californicus magdalenae ).
Since Isla Espíritu Santo was only formed about 5,000 to 12,000 years ago, the Espiritu Santo hare is not a relic species with an originally large distribution area. The species evolved from a population of donkey hares after reaching the island. There are no fossils of the Espiritu Santo hare.
Hazard and protection
The species is rated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as "Near Threatened" mainly because of its endemic occurrence on an area of less than 100 km 2 and because of the population size. A decline in the population and a greater threat to the species are not known. The population is stable on the uninhabited island and a decline is accordingly not to be feared.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d Joseph A. Chapman, John EC Flux (Ed.): 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; Pp. 80-81. ISBN 2-8317-0019-1 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Howard H. Tomas, Troy L. Best : Lepus insularis . In: Mammalian Species . tape 465 , 1994, pp. 1–3 ( full text [PDF; 302 kB ]).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Joseph R. Mejia: Lepus insularis in the Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- ↑ Fernando A. Cervantes, Alejandro Rojas-Viloria, Consuelo Lorenzo, Sergio Ticul Álvarez-Castañeda: Chromosomal Differentiation Between the Jackrabbits Lepus insularis and Lepus californicus from Baja California Sur, Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Mastozoología 4, 1999-2000: pp. 40-52. ( Full text ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice .; PDF; 78 kB)
- ↑ a b c d Lepus insularis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: FJ Romero Malpica H. Rangel Cordero, 2008. Accessed January 14, 2012 Design.
literature
- Howard H. Tomas, Troy L. Best : Lepus insularis . In: Mammalian Species . tape 465 , 1994, pp. 1–3 ( full text [PDF; 302 kB ]).
- 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; Pp. 80-81. ISBN 2-8317-0019-1 .
Web links
- Lepus insularis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: FJ Romero Malpica H. Rangel Cordero, 2008. Accessed January 14, 2012 Design.
- Joseph R. Mejia: Lepus insularis on the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved January 14, 2012.