Leporidae

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Skeleton of Alaskan hare on display at the Museum of Osteology

Leporidae (Template:IPAc-en) is the family of rabbits and hares (Lepus), containing over 70 species of extant mammals in all. Together with the pikas, the Leporidae constitute the mammalian order Lagomorpha. Leporidae differ from pikas in that they have short, furry tails and elongated ears and hind legs.

The common name rabbit usually applies to all genera in the family except Lepus, while members of the genus Lepus (comprising nearly half the species) are usually called hares. Like most common names, however, the distinction does not match current taxonomy completely; jackrabbits are members of Lepus, and members of the genera Pronolagus and Caprolagus are called red rock hares and hispid hares respectively.

Various countries across all continents except Antarctica and Australia have indigenous species of Leporidae. Furthermore, the European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, and the European hare, Lepus europaeus, have been introduced to Australia and to many other islands, where they pose serious ecological and commercial threats due to their adaptability and lack of natural predators.

Description

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 have strong claws on all of their toes. Leporids also have distinctive, elongated and mobile ears, and they have an excellent sense of hearing. Their eyes are large, and their night vision is good, reflecting their primarily nocturnal or crepuscular mode of living.<ref name=EoM>Template:Cite book</ref>

Leporids are all roughly the same shape and fall within a small range of sizes with short tails, ranging in overall length from the Template:Convert long Tres Marias cottontail to the Template:Convert long desert hare. Female leporids are almost always larger than males, which is unusual among terrestrial mammals.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It has been noted that the humerus bones of all leporids are extremely similar.<ref name="Sen and Pickford, 2022">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The dental formula of leporids is Template:DentalFormula = 28, meaning that they have two pairs of upper and one pair of lower incisors, no canines, three upper and two lower premolars on each side, and three upper and lower molars on either side of the jaw.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Twycrosszoo2">Template:Cite web</ref> Many leporids are classified by the characteristics of their teeth, and dental fossils, particularly the third upper premolar ("p3"), are often invaluable in identifying species.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Amami rabbit is unique among the leporids in that its generic name, Pentalagus, is derived from the fact that it is often found without its third upper molar,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> thus having 5 (penta-) total molars.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Distribution, ecology, and behavior

Diet

Both rabbits and hares are almost exclusively herbivorous, although some hare species are known to eat carrion,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and some leporids will eat fungi as well.<ref name="Maser-1988">Template:Cite journal</ref> Leporids feed primarily on grasses and herbs, although they also eat leaves, fruit, and seeds of various kinds. Easily digestible food is processed in the gastrointestinal tract and expelled as regular feces. In order to get nutrients out of hard to digest fiber, leporids ferment fiber in the cecum (in the GI tract) and then expel the contents as cecotropes, which are reingested (in a process known as cecotrophy). The cecotropes are then absorbed in the small intestine to utilize the nutrients,<ref name="dummies 1">Template:Cite web</ref> and the undigestible portion is expelled as pellets that are not eaten. This process is comparable to the cud-chewing behavior of ruminants.<ref name="Twycrosszoo">Template:Cite web</ref>

Distribution

Leporids are found worldwide and have adapted to a remarkable range of habitats, from desert to tundra, forests, mountains, and swampland. Some rabbits dig burrows for shelter, the exact form of which varies between species. Other rabbits do not dig burrows but use forms, usually under a bush. Hares rarely dig shelters of any kind, instead using forms, and their bodies are more suited to fast running than to burrowing.<ref name="EoM" />

The adapatability of leporids has led to some species becoming invasive species upon introduction to exotic regions. Twelve species have been introduced outside of their native range, and three are considered to be invasive: the European rabbit, the European hare, and the eastern cottontail.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The introduction of the European rabbit and European hare to Australia and remote islands is a major factor in the leporids' global distribution.<ref>Template:Lagomorphs2018</ref>

Ecology

Rabbits are near the bottom of the food chain in many ecosystems, being prey for a wide array of predators. These include weasels, birds of prey, snakes, dogs, coyotes, feral cats, and many other carnivores. Some wild cats, such as the Iberian lynx, are specialists, relying heavily on native rabbit populations for their food.<ref name=Dickenson1516>Template:Harvnb</ref> Hares, too, have many predators, and rarely live past one year of age in the wild, though they have a potential lifespan of up to 12 years.<ref name=Carnell36>Template:Harvnb</ref> Leporids, wherever they are found, inevitably end up as part of human diets as well, being considered as bushmeat.<ref>Template:Lagomorphs2018</ref>

Reproduction

Leporids are typically polygynandrous, and some have highly developed social systems. Their social hierarchies determine which males mate. Rabbits are induced ovulators (ovulate during mating).<ref name="Macdonald">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Species nesting below ground tend to have lower predation rates and have larger litters.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

The gestation period in leporids varies from around 28 to 50 days, and is generally longer in the hares. This is in part because young hares (called leverets) are born precocial (eyes and ears open, fully furred), while young rabbits (called kits) are born altricial (eyes and ears closed, no fur).<ref name=EoM/> Higher latitudes correspond to shorter gestation periods.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Leporids can have several litters a year, which can cause their population to expand dramatically in a short time when resources are plentiful. Gestation period and litter size correspond to predation rates as well.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Evolution

The oldest known leporid species date from the late Eocene, by which time the family was already present in both North America and Asia. Over the course of their evolution, this group has become increasingly adapted to lives of fast running and leaping. For example, Palaeolagus, an extinct rabbit from the Oligocene of North America, had shorter hind legs than modern forms (indicating it ran rather than hopped) though it was in most other respects quite rabbit-like.<ref name=MamEv>Template:Cite book</ref> The last common ancestor of the leporids likely had features not present in the last common ancestor of the lagomorphs, according to a 2022 study of the extant and extinct known lagomorphs—an intercranial joint and a facial tilt, specifically.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Two as yet unnamed fossil finds—dated ~Template:Convert ago (from China) and ~Template:Convert ago (India)—while primitive, display the characteristic leporid ankle, thus pushing the divergence of Ochotonidae and Leporidae yet further into the past.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The following cladogram is based on work done by Matthee and colleagues in 2004 and clarifications from Abrantes and colleagues in 2011, and is based on nuclear and mitochondrial gene analysis:<ref name="Pereira2019">Template:Harvnb</ref>

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Taxonomy

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Family Leporidae (rabbits and hares):<ref name=MSW/>

See also

Notes

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References

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