Tapeti

Taxonomy

As many as 37 subspecies of the tapeti have been described, but in 2005, Mammal Species of the World recognized 21, having placed the remaining in synonymy and considering Dice's cottontail (S. dicei) as a separate species. Nevertheless, the tapeti as traditionally defined is a species complex and it was already recognized in 1990 that a taxonomic review was necessary. Consequently, recent authorities have recommended splitting off several taxa typically considered subspecies of the tapeti and recognizing them as separate species: S. andinus in the Andean highlands of Ecuador (perhaps also in the Andes of Colombia, Venezuela, and northern Peru), S. gabbi (with subspecies truei) from Panama to Mexico, S. sanctaemartae in the lowlands of northern Colombia, and S. tapetillus from coastal southeastern Brazil. Additionally, cottontail rabbits from the Guianas have not been clearly assigned to a subspecies, but are traditionally included in the tapeti. In 2017, these were described as a new species, S. parentum, based on specimens from Suriname.