Leporidae Totally Explained

Everything about Leporidae totally explained

Leporids are the approximately 50 species of rabbits and hares which form the family Leporidae. The leporids, together with the pikas, constitute the Lagomorpha order of mammals. Leporids differ from pikas in having short furry tails, and elongated ears and hind legs. The name leporid is derived from Latin leporis, genitive of lepus, a hare.
Members of all genera except Lepus are usually referred to as rabbits, while members of Lepus (which accounts for almost half the species) are usually called hares. However the distinction between these two common names doesn't map completely into current taxonomy, since jackrabbits are members of Lepus, and members of the genera Pronolagus and Caprolagus are sometimes called hares.
Leporids are native across the world except Antarctica, and in Oceania where their introduction is an important threat for the native mammals in Australia.

Characteristics

Leporids are small to moderately sized mammals, adapted for rapid movement. They have long hind legs, with four toes on each foot, and shorter fore legs, with five toes each. The soles of their feet are hairy, to improve grip while running, and they've strong claws on all of their toes. Leporids also have distinctive, elongated and mobile ears, and they've an excellent sense of hearing. Their eyes are large, and their night vision is good, reflecting their primarily nocturnal or crepuscular mode of living.
Leporids range in size from the Pygmy Rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis), with a head and body length of 25-29 cm, and a weight of around 300 grams, to the European Hare (Lepus europaeus), which is 50-76 cm in head-body length, and weighs from 2.5 to 5 kilograms.
Both rabbits and hares are almost exclusively herbivorous (with exceptions among the members of Lepus), feeding primarily on grasses and herbs, although they also eat leaves, fruit, and seeds of various kinds. They pass food through their digestive systems twice, first expelling it as soft green feces, which they then re-ingest, eventually producing hard, dark fecal pellets. Like rodents, they've powerful front incisor teeth, but they also have a smaller second pair of incisors to either side of the main teeth in the upper jaw, and the structure is different from that of rodent incisors. Also like rodents, leporids lack any canine teeth, but they do have more cheek teeth than rodents do. The dental formula of most, though not all, leporids is:
They have adapted to a remarkable range of habitats, from desert to tundra, forests, mountains, and swampland. Rabbits generally dig permanent burrows for shelter, the exact form of which varies between species. In contrast, hares rarely dig shelters of any kind, and their bodies are more suited to fast running than to burrowing. Two as yet unnamed fossil finds -- dated ~48 Ma (from China) and ~53 Ma (India) -- while primitive, display the characteristic leporid ankle, thus pushing the divergence of Ochotonidae and Leporidae yet further into the past.

Classification

Family Leporidae: rabbits and hares

Genus Pentalagus
- Amami Rabbit/Ryūkyū Rabbit, Pentalagus furnessi
Genus Bunolagus
- Riverine Rabbit, Bunolagus monticularis
Genus Nesolagus
- Sumatran Striped Rabbit, Nesolagus netscheri
- Annamite Striped Rabbit, Nesolagus timminsi
Genus Romerolagus
- Volcano Rabbit, Romerolagus diazi
Genus Brachylagus
- Pygmy Rabbit, Brachylagus idahoensis
Genus Sylvilagus
- Subgenus Tapeti
  - Swamp Rabbit, Sylvilagus aquaticus
  - Tapeti, Sylvilagus brasiliensis
  - Dice's Cottontail, Sylvilagus dicei
  - Omilteme Cottontail, Sylvilagus insonus
  - Marsh Rabbit, Sylvilagus palustris
  - Venezuelan Lowland Rabbit, Sylvilagus varynaensis
- Subgenus Sylvilagus
  - Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii
  - Manzano Mountain Cottontail, Sylvilagus cognatus
  - Mexican Cottontail, Sylvilagus cunicularis
  - Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus
  - Tres Marias Rabbit, Sylvilagus graysoni
  - Mountain Cottontail, Sylvilagus nuttallii
  - Appalachian Cottontail, Sylvilagus obscurus
  - Robust Rabbit, Sylvilagus robustus
- Subgenus Microlagus
  - Brush Rabbit, Sylvilagus bachmani
  - San Jose Brush Rabbit, Sylvilagus mansuetus
- Genus Oryctolagus
  - European Rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus
- Genus Poelagus
  - Bunyoro Rabbit, Poelagus marjorita
- Genus Pronolagus
  - Natal Red Rock Hare, Pronolagus crassicaudatus
  - Jameson's Red Rock Hare, Pronolagus randensis
  - Smith's Red Rock Hare, Pronolagus rupestris
- Genus Caprolagus
  - Hispid Hare, Caprolagus hispidus
- Genus Lepus
  - Subgenus Macrotolagus
    - Antelope Jackrabbit, Lepus alleni
  - Subgenus Poecilolagus
    - Snowshoe Hare, Lepus americanus
  - Subgenus Lepus
    - Arctic Hare, Lepus arcticus
    - Alaskan Hare, Lepus othus
    - Mountain Hare, Lepus timidus
  - Subgenus Proeulagus
    - Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus californicus
    - White-sided Jackrabbit, Lepus callotis
    - Cape Hare, Lepus capensis
    - Tehuantepec Jackrabbit, Lepus flavigularis
    - Black Jackrabbit, Lepus insularis
    - Scrub Hare, Lepus saxatilis
    - Desert Hare, Lepus tibetanus
    - Tolai Hare, Lepus tolai
  - Subgenus Eulagos
    - Broom Hare, Lepus castrovieoi
    - Yunnan Hare, Lepus comus
    - Korean Hare, Lepus coreanus
    - Corsican Hare, Lepus corsicanus
    - European Hare, Lepus europaeus
    - Granada Hare, Lepus granatensis
    - Manchurian Hare, Lepus mandschuricus
    - Woolly Hare, Lepus oiostolus
    - Ethiopian Highland Hare, Lepus starcki
    - White-tailed Jackrabbit, Lepus townsendii
  - Subgenus Sabanalagus
    - Ethiopian Hare, Lepus fagani
    - African Savanna Hare, Lepus microtis
  - Subgenus Indolagus
    - Hainan Hare, Lepus hainanus
    - Indian Hare, Lepus nigricollis
    - Burmese Hare, Lepus peguensis
  - Subgenus Sinolagus
    - Chinese Hare, Lepus sinensis
  - Subgenus Tarimolagus
    - Yarkand Hare, Lepus yarkandensis
  - Subgenus incertae sedis
    - Japanese Hare, Lepus brachyurus
    - Abyssinian Hare, Lepus habessinicus

Further Information

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