The San José brush rabbit (''Sylvilagus bachmani mansuetus'') is a critically endangered subspecies of the brush rabbit, in the family

Leporidae Leporidae is the family of rabbits and hares, containing over 60 species of extant mammals in all. The Latin word ''Leporidae'' means "those that resemble ''lepus''" (hare). Together with the pikas, the Leporidae constitute the mammalian order ...

Taxonomy

It was formerly thought to be its own species, but more recent studies indicate that it is a subspecies of ''S. bachmani''.

Distribution

It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the 170 km² San José Island in the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...

, a desert habitat island in the state of Baja California Sur in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The island is only separated from the mainland by a 5–8 km channel. The rabbit only occurs on roughly 20 km² with a population density estimated at 25-35 individuals per km².

Conservation

The subspecies is listed as critically endangered on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

, which was last updated on May 31, 2016. This is due primarily to predation by feral cats, and are also effected by habitat loss, human developments and rats and hunting which have all led to population declines since 1995/1996. To preserve the species it has been recommended that the feral cats be removed and further research be conducted. Although protected under Mexican law they are commonly poached by hunters legally hunting invasive goat species.

Description

The San José brush rabbit is distinguishable from its relatives by its palеr pelage, larger ears and longer and more narrow skull. The winter pelage bull yellow or yellow-grey with short black tips. The sided are pale and grey compared to its top pelage.

Behavior

''S. b. mansuetus'' has been seen resting in the shade of trees on the island such as the Palo Verde. The rabbit becomes reproductively active in November. Being crepuscular the rabbit is most active from sunset till 2am, and 6am to 10am. San José Island is home to one of the most diverse mammalian populations of the islands in Baja California. Areas on the island rich in the plants; ''Fouquieria digueti'', ''Jatropha cinerea'', ''Pachicerus pringley'', ''Opuntia cholla'', ''B. microphylla'', ''Simmondsia chinensis'', ''Cercidium peninsulare'', ''Stenocerus gummosus'', ''Cyrtocarpa edulis'', ''Esenbeckia flava'', ''Lycium'' and ''Olneya tesota'' usually have the highest abundance of ''S. b. mansuetus''. The name ''mansuetus'' is derived from Latin and means tame, regarding how close ''S. b. mansuetus'' can be approached.

References