White flanked hare
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White-flanked hare ( Lepus callotis ) |
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| Lepus callotis | ||||||||||||
| Wagler , 1830 |
The white-flanked hare ( Lepus callotis ) is a species of the real hare among the lagoon animals . Its distribution area extends from the extreme south of the US state New Mexico to deep into central Mexico.
features
The white-flanked hare reaches a body length of 43.2 to 59.8 centimeters with a tail length of about 4.7 to 9.2 centimeters. The ears are 10.8 to 14.9 inches in length and the feet are 11.8 to 14.1 inches long. The females are usually slightly larger than the males.
The fur of the animals is very short and rough; it is ocher to cinnamon with strong black components. The white colored sides of the hare's body are noticeable, as are the belly, torso and thighs are white with some black hair on the hips and abdomen. On the trunk, a median line of eel is indicated by a line of dark, sooty-brown hair with white tips. The tail has black hair with white tips on the top and is also white on the underside. The limbs are white on the inside and light brown on the outside. The face is ocher to sandy brown with black and white parts, the ears are lightly rimmed. In winter the fur turns gray to iron gray with darker parts.
The hind paws have only four toes, while the front paws have five toes. All toes have short claws.
distribution
The distribution area of the white-flanked hare is limited to Mexico and the extreme southwest of New Mexico in the United States . In Mexico it extends to Oaxaca and includes parts of the states of Aguascalientes , Chihuahua , Durango , Guanajuato , Guerrero , Hidalgo , Jalisco , México , Michoacán , Morelos , Oaxaca, Puebla , Querétaro , San Luis Potosí , Sonora , Tlaxcala , Veracruz and Zacatecas . In Mexico City , the Federal District , the species is likely extinct.
The subspecies L. c. gaillardi has an irregular distribution from New Mexico to Durango, with it occurring in Mexico in two isolated areas. In New Mexico, the area is limited to two areas at altitudes between 1,500 and 1,600 meters in Hidalgo County , and an unconfirmed sighting comes from the Huachuca Mountains in the Coronado National Forest in Cochise County , Arizona . The total area of distribution in the United States is estimated to be a maximum of 120 km 2 . In Mexico, the subspecies occurs on the one hand in an area in the central Chihuahua and on the other hand from the southern Chihuahua to the northern and central Durango. The second subspecies L. c. callotis occupies the rest of the distribution area from northern Durango via central Mexico to northern Guerrero and Oaxaca. The hare is found up to heights of 2,550 meters in Puebla and around 750 meters in Morelos.
Way of life
The animals are without exception nocturnal. They can often be seen in pairs, especially during mating season.
nutrition
White-flanked hares mainly feed on grasses such as Bouteloua dactyloides and Bouteloua gracilis, as well as various flowering plants such as Amsinckia . In particularly dry times, they also eat roots.
Reproduction
The mating season of the white-flanked hares is from April to August. The females have at least three litters a year. The litters consist of one to four, on average 2.2 young animals. These are born in open nests above ground and, like all real rabbits, are born with a full coat and open eyes as fleeing nests , so they are active immediately after birth. They reach sexual maturity in the coming mating season.
Systematics
The white-flanked hare is a species within the real hare of the genus Lepus . The northern form L. c. gaillardi and the southern L. c. callotis recognized.
Hazard and protection
The species is assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as a type of warning list (Near Threatened) due to the size of the distribution area and the population size. For some regions, a decline in populations due to habitat changes and a partial displacement by the donkey hare ( Lepus californicus ) is known.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e Aarti Dharmani: Lepus callotis in the Animal Diversity Web of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
- ^ A b c Troy L. Best , Travis Hill Henry: Lepus callotis . In: Mammalian Species . tape 442 , 1993, pp. 1–6 ( full text (PDF; 880 kB)).
- ↑ a b c d e f g Lepus callotis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: Mexican Association for Conservation and Study of Lagomorphs (AMCELA), FJ Romero Malpica, H. Rangel Cordero, 2008. Accessed on 15th January 2012.
literature
- Troy L. Best , Travis Hill Henry: Lepus callotis . In: Mammalian Species . tape 442 , 1993, pp. 1–6 ( full text (PDF; 880 kB)).
Web links
- Lepus callotis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: Mexican Association for Conservation and Study of Lagomorphs (AMCELA), FJ Romero Malpica, H. Rangel Cordero, 2008. Accessed January 15, 2012 Design.
- Aarti Dharmani: Lepus callotis on the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved January 14, 2012.