Hare

Alaskahase (Lepus othus )

The Real hares (Lepus ) are the most species-rich genus within the family of hares ( Leporidae ). It includes about 30 species, their distribution areas are located in Europe, Asia and North America, six of whom also or exclusively in Europe are native.

• 5.1 Notes and references
• 5.2 Literature

Description

Genuine rabbit have in comparison to other lagomorphs very long hind legs, which are approximately twice as long as the forelegs, and very large ears. The skull is thinner than other lagomorphs. The nasal bone is not widened front and a supra-orbital set is available. The species have four upper incisors, the front two are great, directly behind it small. The head -body length is usually between 40 and 70 centimeters, the short tail is three to four inches long. The weight is 1.3 to 7 kg, females are usually larger and heavier than males. In many species that live in arctic regions, the winter coat is white.

Distribution and habitat

Real rabbits are native to southern Mexico in Eurasia, Africa and North America. Hares and other species have been naturalized by man but including Australia, New Zealand and southern South America ( Argentina, Chile), so that the species can be found today almost worldwide. The species live mainly in open, little forested landscapes. The inhabited habitats and way of life are quite uniform in all species, so that the distribution areas of the species are parapatric each under natural conditions.

Way of life

Genuine rabbit dig no or only very simple underground burrows. They usually rest in a well- covered by vegetation flat bottom trough, which is referred to in the hunter's jargon as " Sasse ". The animals like all lagomorphs feed almost exclusively vegetable. The young animals are pronounced " precocial ," they are born hairy and sight, and can already move around a few minutes after birth.

System

Classification

Pikas ( Ochotonidae / Ochotona )

Busch rabbits ( Poelagus marjorita )

Rotkaninchen ( Pronolagus )

Stripe rabbit ( Nesolagus )

Volcano rabbit ( Romerolagus diazi )

Wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Bristle rabbits ( Caprolagus hispidus )

Bushman Hare ( Bunolagus monticularis )

Ryukyu Rabbit ( Pentalagus furnessi )

Cottontail rabbits ( Sylvilagus )

Dwarf rabbits ( Brachylagus )

True hares (Lepus )

The Real Hares are assigned as genus Lepus the Hare ( Leporidae ). The first scientific description of the genus was in 1891 by Linnaeus in 1758 in the first volume of the tenth edition of Systema Naturae with the arctic hare (Lepus timidus ) as the type species.

On the basis of molecular biological data has been of Conrad A. Matthee et al. 2004, a cladogram developed that represents the phylogenetic relationships of the genera within the bunnies to each other. Accordingly, the rights hare a taxon consisting of the cottontail rabbit ( genus Sylvilagus ), the dwarf rabbits ( Brachylagus idahoensis ), the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), the bristle rabbits ( Caprolagus hispidus ), the Riverine Rabbit ( Bunolagus monticularis ) and the Ryukyu rabbits ( Pentalagus furnessi ) compared.

Species

The systematics within the genus has long been controversial, the number of species and subspecies is therefore yes by Author differently. The following compilation is essentially determined by Wilson and Reeder. It classifies the species according to their area of ​​distribution and does not reflect the ancestral relationships.

• The Burmese hare ( L. peguensis ) is native to Myanmar and Southeast Asia.
• The Castroviejo hare ( L. castroviejoi ) was only in 1977 described as kind, he lives in a small area in northern Spain.
• The Chinese hare ( L. sinensis) inhabited the whole of southern China and northern Vietnam.
• The hare ( L. europaeus ) from Europe and western Asia is the most famous and only next to the snow bunnies living in Central Europe, representatives of the Real rabbit.
• The Hainan Hare (L. hainanus ) is endemic to the island belonging to China Hainan. The species is considered endangered.
• The Iberian hare ( L. granatensis ) is restricted to the Iberian Peninsula.
• The Korean hare ( L. coreanus ) lives in Korea and Manchuria.
• The Corsica - hare ( L. Corsicanus ) is native to central and southern Italy, Corsica, he was introduced.
• The short-tailed or Japanese hare ( L. brachyurus ) is common in Japan. In the northern regions, their fur changes color in winter white.
• Lepus Tibetanus
• The Manchurian hare ( L. mandshuricus ) occurs in the south-east Russia and northeast China.
• The mountain hare (L. timidus ) lives in northern Eurasia and is known for its color change of the coat.
• The black neck hare ( L. nigricollis ) was originally restricted to the Indian subcontinent, Java, Mauritius and Réunion it has been introduced.
• The Tibetan wool hare ( L. oiostolus ) is characterized by a long, woolly coat. The species lives in the highlands of Tibet.
• The Tolai hare ( L. Tolai ) lives in Central Asia from the Caspian Sea to western China.
• The Yarkand hare (L. yarkandensis ) is a resident of the Taklamakan Desert in the Chinese province of Xinjiang.
• The Yunnan hare ( L. comus ) comes in southern China before ( in the provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou )

• The Abyssinian hare ( L. habessinicus )
• The Cape hare (L. capensis ), which is closely related to the brown hare, inhabited large parts of Africa and southwestern Asia and is also found in Sardinia.
• The savannas or Mozambique hare ( L. Microtis, Syn L. victoriae ) is in large parts of Africa (from Mauritania to Sudan and South Africa) and used in an isolated population in Algeria.
• The scrub hare ( L. saxatilis ) is relatively dark and langohrig. He lives in Namibia and South Africa.
• The Ethiopian hare ( L. fagani ) occurs in western Ethiopia. About this species is little known.
• The Ethiopian Highland Hare ( L. starcki ) exclusively inhabited the mountainous region in the central part of Ethiopia.

• The Alaskahase (L. othus ) lives in the western and southwestern Alaska.
• The Arctic hare (L. arcticus ) is located in Greenland and northern Canada. Both species are considered close relatives of the snow bunnies.
• The snowshoe hare ( L. americanus) is named after its wide paws; He lives in North America.
• The prairie hare ( L. townsendii ) inhabits grasslands in the Midwestern United States and southern Canada.
• The donkey hare ( L. californicus ) is named for its long ears. He lives in the western part of the USA and northern Mexico.
• The antelope hare ( L. alleni ) is the largest and heaviest representatives of the Real rabbit. He lives in a small area in Arizona and northwestern Mexico.
• The Espiritu Santo hare ( L. insularis ) is endemic to the island of Espiritu Santo in Baja California. It is characterized by its almost black fur.
• The white edge hare ( L. callotis ) lives in the U.S. state of New Mexico and northern Mexico. The loss of its habitat means that this species is endangered.
• The Tehuantepec Hare (L. flavigularis ) is one of the rarest rabbit. He lives only in a small area in Mexico and is considered threatened.

Swell