The Corsican hare (''Lepus corsicanus''), also known as the Apennine hare or Italian hare, is a species of
hare
Hares and jackrabbits are mammals belonging to the genus ''Lepus''. They are herbivores, and live solitarily or in pairs. They nest in slight depressions called forms, and their young are able to fend for themselves shortly after birth. The g ...
found in southern and central
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
and
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
.
Taxonomy
It was first described as a species in 1898 by the British zoologist
William Edward de Winton
William Edward de Winton (6 September 1856 – 30 August 1922) was a British zoologist. He traveled widely, and discovered a number of previously undescribed cricetid species. His East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, ...
using specimens from Corsica.
[Randi, Ettore (2007) "Phylogeography of South European Mammals", in Weiss, Steven & Nuno Ferrand (2007) ]
Phylogeography of Southern European Refugia
', Springer. It was later regarded as a
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all specie ...
of the
European hare
The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...
(''L. europaeus'') or both were treated as subspecies of the
Cape hare
The Cape hare (''Lepus capensis''), also called the brown hare and the desert hare, is a hare native to Africa and Arabia extending into India.
Taxonomy
The Cape hare was one of the many mammal species originally described by Carl Linnaeus ...
(''L. capensis''). It is now often treated as a full species as it does not appear to
hybridize with the European hare where their
ranges
In the Hebrew Bible and in the Old Testament, the word ranges has two very different meanings.
Leviticus
In Leviticus 11:35, ranges probably means a cooking furnace for two or more pots, as the Hebrew word here is in the dual number; or perhaps ...
overlap and studies of
mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
suggest that it belongs to a distinct
lineage
Lineage may refer to:
Science
* Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor
* Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populat ...
which differentiated in isolated
refuges during the last
glacial period
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betwe ...
.
[
]
Description
It is similar to the European hare in appearance, being largely brown with a cream-coloured belly. It differs in having grey rather than white bases to the hairs of the underfur
Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket ...
. It is smaller on average than the European Hare with a head and body length of 44.1—61.2 cm, a tail length of 6.6—11.2 cm and a weight of 1.8—3.8 kg.[Aulagnier S.; P. Haffner, A. J. Mitchell-Jones, F. Moutou & J. Zima (2009) ''Mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East'', A&C Black, London.] The ears and hind legs are relatively longer, 9—12.6 cm and 11.4—13.5 cm respectively.[
]
Distribution and habitat
It is found in maquis shrubland
220px, Low maquis in Corsica
220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia
( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; hr, makija; ; ) is a shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs.
Maquis is c ...
, grassland, cultivated areas and dunes. It is common and widespread on Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
where it occurs from sea-level up to 2400 metres on Mount Etna
Mount Etna, or simply Etna ( it, Etna or ; scn, Muncibbeḍḍu or ; la, Aetna; grc, Αἴτνα and ), is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina ...
. On mainland Italy, its range is more fragmented, extending patchily north to Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
on the west coast and Foggia
Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...
on the east coast. It was introduced to Corsica by man, probably between the 14th and 17th centuries, and is currently rare there with only a few recent records.
Status and conservation
Its population appears to be declining and it is classified as " Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
(IUCN).habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...
, hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
and competition with European rabbit
The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (including Spain, Portugal, and southwestern France), western France, and the northern Atlas Mountains in northwest Africa. It has b ...
s and introduced populations of European hares. It is now protected from hunting but the similarity between this species and the European hare makes protection difficult to enforce.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q932156
Lepus
Hare, Corsican
Fauna of Corsica
Corsican Hare
Vulnerable animals
Vulnerable biota of Europe
Mammals described in 1898
Taxa named by William Edward de Winton