Omilteme cottontail
The Omilteme - cottontail rabbits ( Sylvilagus insonus ) is an extremely rare rabbit style from the kind of cottontail rabbits. It is endemic to the Sierra Madre del Sur in the Mexican state of Guerrero.
Features
The Omilteme - cottontail rabbit reaches a body length of 43 centimeters. The tail length is 4.0 inches, the hind foot length of 9.3 centimeters and 6.2 centimeters length ears. The cranial and spinal fur are dark ocher - beige with an ocher - tan approach and a strong gray-black tint. The cheeks, flanks and rump are a little lighter and grayer than the back. The nose and the area above the eyes is dirty gray and sand colors. The neck is blunt rust dirty. The tail are dull dark reddish brown. The tail underside is dirty brownish- beige. The neck and throat are dull sand color dark. The thighs and the shoulders are ocher - tan. The belly is white with a bluish shimmering undercoat. The front feet are dirty white back and front ocher - tan. The hind feet are dirty white front and rear ocher - tan faded. The soles are non-smoking brown dark. The ears are dark black - brown mottled on the curved upper surface and a blackish along the front and at the top.
Distribution and habitat
The Omilteme - cottontail rabbit has a highly fragmented distribution area of less than 500 km ². It is endemic in the region of Omilteme near Chilpancingo in the Sierra Madre del Sur. Its habitat is dense cloud forests, pine and pine-oak forests at altitudes 2300-5280 meters.
Way of life
Little is known about his life. It lives in the dense undergrowth, makes change and inhabits burrows under rocks or similar protection. The Omilteme - cottontail rabbit is predominantly nocturnal and therefore difficult to observe and catch.
Endangering
The Omilteme - cottontail rabbit was long known only from three museum specimens. 1990, it was " extinct " by the IUCN in the category classified, after which there was no evidence since 1960. According to an unconfirmed sighting in 1991, the type 1994 in the category " endangered " in 1996 and " threatened with extinction " listed in the category. 2008, it was " high risk " demoted to the category.
In a 52 -day search in 1998 an expeditionary team was initially only copies of the Mexican cottontail rabbit ( Sylvilagus cunicularius ). The researchers learned but locals know who managed to collect two copies of the cottontail rabbit - Omilteme, one of which is now located in the collection of the Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico. The two animals were killed approximately one kilometers south-southeast of Omilteme at an altitude of 2,300 meters.
The main causes of endangerment are habitat loss due to deforestation and overgrazing and overhunting. The habitat of the cottontail rabbit Omilteme - located within the Historia Natural del Parque Ecological Estatal Omiltemi.