The Venezuelan lowland rabbit (''Sylvilagus varynaensis''), also known as the Barinas wild rabbit, is a cottontail rabbit

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

found in western

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Diet

Its diet consists in large measure of plants of the genus '' Sida''.

Habitat

It is found in lowland savannas close to

dry forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

within the Llanos

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

Description

It is the largest of only three leporids known from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

. Head and body length is about 44 cm, with females being slightly larger.

Breeding

Reproduction takes place over three quarters of the year, with an average of 2.6 embryos per litter, but most commonly during September through December. The gestation period is 35 days.

Threats

Possible threats to the species include

habitat destruction 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 ...

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

and agricultural conversion, competition with grazing livestock and hunting.

References

Sylvilagus Mammals of Venezuela Endemic fauna of Venezuela Mammals described in 2001 {{lagomorph-stub