New England cottontail
New England cottontail rabbit ( Sylvilagus transitionalis )
The New England cottontail rabbit ( Sylvilagus transitionalis ) is a mammal in the genus of cottontail rabbit among lagomorphs. The species occurs exclusively in the areas of New England on the east coast of the United States. The species is considered as endangered species because the amounts and distribution areas have declined markedly in recent decades.
Features
The New England cottontail rabbit is a medium -sized species of its genus with a head-body length of 38.6 to 43 inches, with the females being slightly larger than the males. The tail length is the male average of 4.2 inches, with a range from 2.2 to 5.7 inches and the female average of 4.7 inches, with a range from 3.0 to 6.5 centimeters. The weight of the males is 756-965 grams, that of the female 802-1038 grams. The back color is yellow-brown with black, neck, they have a distinctive brown spot. The body sides are more brightly colored, and the belly is white.
From Sylvilagus obscurus the animals are externally indistinguishable. Accordingly, one can only be based on the locality or molecular biological methods draw conclusions about the nature. Compared to Florida Cottontail ( S. floridanus ) both species are slightly smaller with shorter and rounded ears that are black margins, they also have a black spot between the ears. Other differences are found in the structure of the skull.
Dissemination
The distribution area of the New England cottontail rabbit originally extended over a large area of New England, encompassing the southern Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, eastern New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Iceland. According to a study from 2006, the area grew within this historic area of distribution from a total of 12,180 km ² and an increase of 86%. Thus, the species is now limited to small areas in the coastal area of Maine, the coast and the valley of the Merrimack River in southern New Hampshire, in southeastern New York, the western and eastern Connecticut east of the Connecticut River, the western Massachusetts, parts of Cape Cod limited in Massachusetts and Rhode Iceland.
Way of life
As habitats, the New England cottontail rabbit primarily uses open woods and thickets. The species is described as a habitat specialist, as they settled mostly early forest stages, which were very common historically in their area of distribution and which have now become denser forest stands in which the species is no longer a suitable habitat. It is also to be found mainly in the vicinity of water, whose shores are covered with a dense undergrowth.
The New England cottontail rabbit eats mainly of herbaceous plants, fruits and seeds. In winter, it eats woody plant parts. The females give birth to an average of 24 pups in the world, with an average litter size is about 3.5 pups per litter.
System
The New England cottontail rabbit is assigned as an independent species the cottontail rabbits ( genus Sylvilagus ). Within the species, no subspecies are distinguished. The first description was in 1895 by Outram Bangs as Lepus sylvaticus transitionalis, ie as a subspecies of today as Florida Cottontail ( Sylvilagus floridanus ) designated Art
The 1992 by Ralph E. Chapman et al. described species Sylvilagus obscurus was also originally added to the New England cottontail rabbit, but was separated by a molecular biological analysis of this. It was found that the two species were equipped with two different sets of chromosomes ( genomes ). While the animals of the northern Appalachians have a diploid chromosome complement of 2n = 52 chromosomes that have the southern Appalachians only 2n = 46 chromosomes. Chapman et al. described according to the last as a new kind of Sylvilagus obscurus. However, it is possible that this species is associated with the New England cottontail rabbit as a subspecies.
Threats and conservation
The New England cottontail rabbit is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN ) due to the sharp decline of the species throughout their range as threatened ( vulnerable ). The rabbit was originally widespread and frequent. The available habitats decreased since the 1960s by about 86 % and were strongly verinselt. The population size was estimated in 1994 to more than 50% back, and the trend is due to increasing habitat fragmentation and destruction continued. In addition, the competitive pressure increases due to the spread of the Florida cottontail ( S. floridanus ) in the circulation area.