''Nesolagus'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of rabbits containing three species of striped rabbit: the

Annamite striped rabbit The Annamite striped rabbit (''Nesolagus timminsi'') is a species of rabbit native to the Annamite Chain, Annamite mountain range on the Laos-Vietnam border. The rabbit is striped, with a red rump, and resembles the Sumatran striped rabbit. It on ...

, the

Sumatran striped rabbit The Sumatran striped rabbit (''Nesolagus netscheri''), also known as the Sumatra short-eared rabbit or Sumatran rabbit, is a rabbit found only in forests in the Barisan Mountains in western Sumatra, Indonesia, and surrounding areas. It is threaten ...

, and the extinct species ''N. sinensis''. Overall there is very little known about the genus as a whole, most information coming from the Sumatran rabbit.

Species

The genus ''Nesolagus'' includes three species, one extinct: *

, ''Nesolagus netscheri'' *

, ''Nesolagus timminsi'' * '' Nesolagus sinensis'', early Pleistocene of China.

Behavior

Due to the small number of individuals, and because of the rare sightings of this genus, there is not much information available on its behavior. One thing that we do know however, is that the Sumatran rabbit is nocturnal and hides out in burrows which it does not make itself and does not really like to go out looking for food for itself in places that are too far from its home.

Description

Descriptions of the species are partly based on images made by

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) senso ...

s; for the Sumatran striped rabbit the cameras were set in the montane forests of Sumatra, while the Annamite Striped rabbit was seen in the Annamite mountain range of Laos and Vietnam. Both species of striped rabbit have seven brown or black stripes and a red rump and white underside. They are the only species of rabbits to have stripes. They are relatively small with a length of about 368–417 mm, with a tail of about 17 mm and ears about 43–45 mm long. Thus the ears of ''Nesolagus'' are only about half as long as in most rabbits, e.g. in the genus ''Lepus''. Their fur is soft and dense, overlaid by longer, harsher hairs.

Distribution

Striped rabbits are found in only four locations. The Sumatran striped rabbit has been found in the

Barisan Mountains The Bukit Barisan or the Barisan Mountains are a mountain range on the western side of Sumatra, Indonesia, covering nearly 1,700 km (1,050 mi) from the north to the south of the island. The Bukit Barisan range consists primarily of volca ...

in western Sumatra,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, and the Annamite striped rabbit has been found in the

Annamite The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native lan ...

mountains on the border between

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and Laos. The fossils (parts of the left mandible with several teeth) of the extinct ''Nesolagus sinensis'' were found in Chongzou Ecological Park in the Guangnxi Zhuang region of southwest China.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q913660 Mammals of Indonesia Mammal genera Taxa named by Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major Leporidae