Omilteme cottontail rabbit
| Omilteme cottontail rabbit | ||||||||||||
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| Sylvilagus insonus | ||||||||||||
| EW Nelson , 1904 |
The Omilteme cottontail rabbit ( Sylvilagus insonus ) is an extremely rare species of rabbit belonging to the cottonseed rabbit genus . It is in the Sierra Madre del Sur in the Mexican state of Guerrero endemic .
features
The Omilteme cottontail rabbit reaches a body length of 43 centimeters. The tail length is 4.0 centimeters, the hind foot length 9.3 centimeters and the ear length 6.2 centimeters. The top of the head and the fur on the back are dark ocher-sand-colored with an ocher-tan hue and a strong gray-black tint. The cheeks, the flanks and the rear part are a little lighter and grayer than the back. The nose and the area above the eyes is a dirty gray-sand color. The neck is dull, dirty rust-colored. The top of the tail is dull, dark reddish brown. The underside of the tail is dirty brownish-sand-colored. The neck and throat are dull dark sand colored. The thighs and shoulders are ocher-tan in color. The belly is white with a bluish shimmering undercoat. The front feet are dirty white in the back and ocher-tan in the front. The hind feet are dirty white at the front and washed-out ocher-tan at the back. The soles of the feet are dark, smoke brown. The ears are mottled dark black-brown on the curved top and a little blacker along the front and at the tip.
distribution and habitat
The Omilteme cottontail rabbit has a highly fragmented range of less than 500 km². It is endemic to the Omilteme region near Chilpancingo in the Sierra Madre del Sur. Its habitat is dense cloud forests, pine and pine-oak forests at altitudes between 2,300 and 5,280 meters.
Way of life
Little is known about his way of life. It lives in the dense undergrowth, makes changes and inhabits buildings under rocks or similar protection. The Omilteme cottontail rabbit is mostly nocturnal and therefore difficult to watch and catch.
Danger
For a long time, the Omilteme cottontail rabbit was only known from three museum specimens. In 1990 it was classified by the IUCN in the “extinct” category, according to which there has been no evidence since 1960. After an unconfirmed sighting in 1991, the species was listed in the "critically endangered" category in 1994 and in the "critically endangered" category in 1996. In 2008 it was downgraded to the “critically endangered” category.
During a 52-day search in 1998, an expedition team initially only found specimens of the Mexican cottontail rabbit ( Sylvilagus cunicularius ). However, the researchers met locals who managed to collect two specimens of the Omilteme cottontail rabbit, one of which is now in the collection of the Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. The two animals were killed about one kilometer south-southeast of Omilteme at an altitude of 2,300 meters.
Habitat loss through deforestation and overgrazing as well as overhunting are considered to be the main sources of risk. The habitat of the Omilteme cottontail rabbit is located within the Historia Natural del Parque Ecológico Estatal Omiltemi.
literature
- Fernando A. Cervantes & Consuelo Lorenzo: Sylvilagus insonus. In: Mammalian Species No. 568, American Society of Mammalogists. October 24, 1997, pp. 1-4 ( PDF, online ).
- Fernando A. Cervantes, Consuelo Lorenzo & FX González-Cózatl: The Omiltemi rabbit (Sylvilagus insonus) is not extinct. Mammalian Biology - Journal of Mammalian Science. Issue 69, Issue 1, January 2004, pp. 61–64.
- Edward William Nelson: Descriptions of seven new Rabbits from Mexico. In: Proceedings of the Biologocial Society of Washington. Vol. 17, May 18, 1904, pp. 103-110.
- Ribert S. Hoffmann, Andrew T. Smith: In: DE Wilson, DM Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Nov 16, 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 , p. 210.
Web links
- Sylvilagus insonus in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Mexican Association for Conservation and Study of Lagomorphs (AMCELA) Romero Malpica, FJ & Rangel Cordero, 2008. Accessed on 21 November, 2008.