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Cottontail
Cottontail rabbits are in the ''Sylvilagus'' genus, which is in the family Leporidae. They are found in the Americas. Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this feature is not present in all ''Sylvilagus'', nor is it unique to the genus. However their fur ranges from brown to gray and changes throughout the year, depending on the season. The genus is widely distributed across North America, Central America, and northern and central South America, though most species are confined to particular regions. Most species live in nests called forms, and all have altricial young. They often live on the edges of fields, farms, and other open spaces far from highly populated areas. But sometimes they make their nests in yards and parks near more people. An adult female averages three litters per year, which can be born in any season. Occurrence and litter size depend on several factors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvilagus Transitionalis
The New England cottontail (''Sylvilagus transitionalis''), also known as the gray rabbit, brush rabbit, wood hare, wood rabbit, or cooney, is a species of cottontail rabbit that appears in fragmented populations across New England and the state of New York, specifically from southern Maine to southern New York. This species bears a close resemblance to the eastern cottontail (''Sylvilagus floridanus''), which has been introduced in much of the New England cottontail home range. The eastern cottontail is now more common in it. In 2006, it was estimated that the current area of occupancy in its historic range is - some 86% less than the occupied range in 1960. Because of this decrease in this species' numbers and habitat, the New England cottontail is a candidate for protection under the Endangered Species Act. Cottontail hunting has been restricted in some areas where the eastern and New England cottontail species coexist in order to protect the remaining New England cottontail ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvilagus Audubonii
The desert cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii''), also known as Audubon's cottontail, is a New World cottontail rabbit, and a member of the family Leporidae. Unlike the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus''), they do not form social burrow systems, but compared with some other leporids, they are extremely tolerant of other individuals in their vicinity. Cottontails give birth to their kits in burrows vacated by other mammals. They sometimes cool off, or take refuge in scratched out shallow created depressions of their own making, using their front paws like a back hoe. They are not usually active in the middle of the day, but can be observed foraging in the early morning, and early evening. Cottontails are rarely found out of their burrows looking for food on windy days, because the wind interferes with their ability to hear approaching predators, their primary defense mechanism. Lifespan The lifespan of a cottontail that reaches adulthood averages less than two years, de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Cottontail
The eastern cottontail (''Sylvilagus floridanus'') is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is the most common rabbit species in North America. Distribution The eastern cottontail can be found in meadows and shrubby areas in the eastern and south-central United States, southern Canada, eastern Mexico, Central America and northernmost South America. It is also found on the Caribbean island of Margarita. It is abundant in Midwest North America. Its range expanded north as forests were cleared by settlers.Godin, Alfred J. (1977). ''Wild mammals of New England''. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press Originally, it was not found in New England, but it has been introduced and now competes for habitat there with the native New England cottontail. It has also been introduced into parts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. In the 1950s and 1960s, the eastern cottontail was introduced to France and northern Italy, where it displayed a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvilagus Floridanus
The eastern cottontail (''Sylvilagus floridanus'') is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is the most common rabbit species in North America. Distribution The eastern cottontail can be found in meadows and shrubby areas in the eastern and south-central United States, southern Canada, eastern Mexico, Central America and northernmost South America. It is also found on the Caribbean island of Margarita. It is abundant in Midwest North America. Its range expanded north as forests were cleared by settlers.Godin, Alfred J. (1977). ''Wild mammals of New England''. Baltimore, MD: The Johns Hopkins University Press Originally, it was not found in New England, but it has been introduced and now competes for habitat there with the native New England cottontail. It has also been introduced into parts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. In the 1950s and 1960s, the eastern cottontail was introduced to France and northern Italy, where it displayed a rap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvilagus Obscurus
The Appalachian cottontail (''Sylvilagus obscurus'') is a species of cottontail rabbit in the family Leporidae. It is a rare species found in the upland areas of the eastern United States. Taxonomy The species was only recognized as separate from the New England cottontail (''Sylvilagus transitionalis'') in 1992. Description ''Sylvilagus obscurus'' is a small rabbit inhabiting mostly mountainous regions in the eastern U.S. ranging from Pennsylvania to South Carolina and being most prominent in the Appalachians. ''S. obscurus'' is better adapted to colder climates than its distant relative, ''S. floridanus'', the eastern cottontail. ''S. obscurus'' is light-yellow brown, mixed with black on the dorsal side, having a brown and red patch mixed on the neck. The ventral side is mostly white. ''S. obscurus'' is often visually quite similar to the eastern cottontail; a distinguishing factor is a black spot between the ears and a lack of a white spot on the forehead. The Appalachian c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvilagus Nuttallii
The mountain cottontail or Nuttall's cottontail (''Sylvilagus nuttallii'') is a species of rabbit found in western Canada and the United States. It is a medium- to small-sized rabbit with pale brown fur, white undersides, a two-colored tail, and black-tipped, rounded ears with densely-furred insides. It has notably rusty-colored legs and an orange nape. The mountain cottontail appears largely among coniferous forests in mountainous regions, including the slopes of the Rocky Mountains and the Cascade-Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, and adapts to a variety of elevations and vegetation. Its diet is made up of various grasses, shrubs, and sagebrush, as well as twigs, bark or fungi in lesser amounts or when foliage is scarce. The mountain cottontail was first described in 1837 by naturalist John Bachman and was given the specific name ''nuttallii'' after zoologist Thomas Nuttall. Marcus Ward Lyon Jr. later placed the species in the genus ''Sylvilagus'' in 1904. The species is closely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvilagus Robustus
The Davis Mountains cottontail, robust cottontail or Holzner's cottontail (''Sylvilagus holzneri'') is a species of cottontail rabbit native to high-altitude regions of the southwestern United States and western Mexico. Taxonomy This species and the subspecies comprising it were long considered to be subspecies of the eastern cottontail (''S. floridanus''), but were promoted to species level due to morphological analysis. Genetic data have confirmed the uniqueness of ''S. holzneri''. ''S. holzneri'' and ''S. floridanus'' are distinguished primarily by size, dental, and cranial differences. Subspecies According to genetic analysis, there are three subspecies of ''S. holzneri'': * ''S. h. hesperius'': endemic to northwestern and central Arizona, from the Hualapai Mountains south to the Sierra Ancha. *''S. h. holzneri'': The most widespread subspecies, ranging throughout mountains from southeastern Arizona and south-central New Mexico (aside from the Guadalupe Mountains) south ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvilagus Dicei
Dice's cottontail (''Sylvilagus dicei'') is a species of cottontail rabbit in the family Leporidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama, in páramo and cloud forest habitats. Taxonomy Dice's cottontail was first described by William P. Harris Jr., in 1932. It was at one time thought to be a subspecies of the common tapetí or forest cottontail (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') but is now recognised as a separate species. The type locality is El Copey de Dota, in the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica, at . Description Dice's cottontail is one of the larger cottontail rabbits. Its back is dappled black and brown and its flanks greyish-black. The blackish tail is tiny and the underparts are dull white. It has a brown patch on its throat. Distribution and habitat Dice's cottontail is endemic to the Cordillera de Talamanca which straddles the border between Panama and Costa Rica. Its habitat is Alpine meadows and Páramo grasslands above the tree line. It also occurs in the oak-domi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sylvilagus Palustris
The marsh rabbit (''Sylvilagus palustris'') is a small cottontail rabbit found in marshes and swamps of coastal regions of the Eastern and Southern United States. It is a strong swimmer and found only near regions of water. It is similar in appearance to the eastern cottontail (''Sylvilagus floridanus'') but is characterized by smaller ears, legs, and tail. Taxonomy and etymology The scientific name ''Sylvilagus palustris'' derives from a combination of the Latin words ''silva'' ("forest") and ''lagos'' ("hare"), plus ''palustris'' ("of the marsh").Archibald William Smith The marsh rabbit has commonly been associated with the group of swamp rabbits; however, this name is not a synonym and should not be confused with the larger swamp rabbit ''(Sylvilagus aquaticus)'' of Alabama through Texas. Marsh rabbits have also often been referred to as ''marsh hares''. Phylogeny In the subgenus ''Tapeti'' in the genus ''Sylvilagus'', marsh rabbits and swamp rabbits share a chromosomal k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
European Rabbit
The European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') or coney is a species of rabbit native to the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal and Andorra) and southwestern France. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Oryctolagus''. The European rabbit has faced a population decline in its native range due to myxomatosis, rabbit haemorrhagic disease, overhunting and habitat loss. Outside of its native range, it is known as an invasive species, as it has been introduced to countries on all continents with the exception of Antarctica, often with devastating effects on local biodiversity due to a lack of predators. The average adult European rabbit is in length, and can weigh , though size and weight vary with habitat and diet. Its distinctive ears can measure up to from the Occipital bone, occiput. Due to the European rabbit's history of domestication, selective breeding, and introduction to non-native habitats, feral European rabbits across the world display a wide variety of Morpho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to descendants, nor does it show how much they have changed, so many differing evolutionary trees can be consistent with the same cladogram. A cladogram uses lines that branch off in different directions ending at a clade, a group of organisms with a last common ancestor. There are many shapes of cladograms but they all have lines that branch off from other lines. The lines can be traced back to where they branch off. These branching off points represent a hypothetical ancestor (not an actual entity) which can be inferred to exhibit the traits shared among the terminal taxa above it. This hypothetical ancestor might then provide clues about the order of evolution of various features, adaptation, and other e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
