Mountain cottontail
Mountain Cottontail ( Sylvilagus nuttallii )
The mountain cottontail rabbits ( Sylvilagus nuttallii ) is a mammal in the genus of cottontail rabbit among lagomorphs. It lives in the west of the North American continent from southern Canada to large parts of the United States to New Mexico and Arizona in the south.
Features
The mountain cottontail rabbit is a relatively large species of cottontail rabbits. Chapman ( 1975) are for the males an average head -body length of 35.2 cm with a range from 33.8 to 37.1 centimeters and the females have an average snout-vent length of 37.2 centimeters at a range from 34.5 to 39 centimeters to. The weight of males averages about 720 grams ( 630-830 grams) and females average 790 grams ( 690-870 grams). The females are thus a little larger and heavier than the males, with the difference representing an average of about 4%.
The back color is gray, and the belly white, the tail is large and grayish. The ears are short and rounded at the tip. The hind feet are covered comparatively long and with long hair.
Dissemination
The distribution area of the mountain cottontail rabbit comprises the western part of the North American continent from southern Canada in the states of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan to large parts of the United States to New Mexico and Arizona in the south. It extends from the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains to the eastern boundary of the Cascade Range and the Sierra Nevada. In North Dakota, the species has been displaced in large parts of Florida Cottontail ( Sylvilagus floridanus ), to which it allopatric found mainly in the northern and central Great Plains.
The altitudinal distribution ranges in California from 1,500 meters to 3,450 meters at least.
Way of life
As habitats the mountain cottontail rabbit settled in the distribution area different habitats with highly variable vegetation. In the north the species lives mainly in steppe areas, which are dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ), while it is more common in wooded areas in the south.
The species lives as a loner and feeds throughout the year from the leaves of sagebrush or juniper (Juniperus species), preferably but especially in the spring and summer fresh grasses. The animals usually eat in the bushes or near potential hiding places. When threatened, the rabbit runs usually about 5 to 15 meters in the next hiding place and remains there motionless and ears pricked. It uses buildings and hiding, digging, however, probably not himself.
The mating and breeding season varies within the distribution area, where it lasts about in northeastern California from April to early July and in Central Oregon from mid- February to the end of July. In general, the females have two litters per year in California and four to five litters per year in Oregon. The gestation period lasts 28 to 30 days, after which the female gives birth every four to six pups. In Oregon can bring about 22 offspring World According to one female per year.
System
The mountain cottontail rabbit is assigned as an independent species the cottontail rabbits ( genus Sylvilagus ). Scientifically, it was first described in 1837 as Lepus nuttallii by the American Nature scholar and priest John Bachman, who two years later Lepus artemesia described, which was synonymized with the mountain cottontail rabbit. The epithet was named this after the English botanist and zoologist Thomas Nuttall. 1904 Marcus Ward Lyon ordered the type, cottontail rabbits, which were described in 1867 by John Edward Gray.
Within the species are with Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii the nominate and p n p n grangeri pinetis and described three subspecies.
Threats and conservation
The mountain cottontail rabbit is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ) due to the population size and the large distribution area as not at risk ( least concern ). A decline in populations and risk are not known.