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Columbia Encyclopedia: cottontail rabbit,
animal of the order Lagomorpha, which includes the hares and rabbits, except for the domestic, or European, rabbit, which is in a separate species. Members of the genus Sylvilagus, cottontails have large ears and short legs and move with a scurrying or scampering gait. Unlike the European rabbit, they do not dig their own burrows but make a nest in a depression in the ground. Unlike hares, they seek protection in hiding rather than in swift flight. The cottontail ranges from the southern border of Canada to N Argentina. There are six races. Cottontails are a common source of tularemia, or rabbit fever. They are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Lagomorpha, family Leporidae.


 
 
WordNet: cottontail rabbit
Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: common small rabbit of North America having grayish or brownish fur and a tail with a white underside; a host for Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis (Lyme disease ticks)
  Synonyms: wood rabbit, cottontail


 
Wikipedia: cottontail rabbit
Cottontail rabbits[1]
Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Lagomorpha
Family: Leporidae
Genus: Sylvilagus
Gray, 1867
Type species
Lepus sylvaticus
Bachman, 1837
(=Lepus sylvaticus floridanus J. Allen, 1890)
Species

16, see text

The cottontail rabbits are the 16 lagomorph species in the genus Sylvilagus, found in the Americas.

In appearance most cottontail rabbits closely resemble the wild European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Most members of the genus have a stub tail with a white underside that shows when they are retreating, giving them their name "cottontails." However, this feature is not present in all cottontails (for example, the underside of the Brush Rabbit's tail is grey), nor is it unique to the genus (for example, the European Rabbit also has a white scut).

The genus is widely distributed across North America, though most species are confined to particular regions. Most (though not all) species live in nests called forms, and all have altricial young.

Cottontail rabbits show a greater resistance to myxomatosis than European rabbits.[2]

Species

  • Genus Sylvilagus
    • Subgenus Tapeti
    • Subgenus Sylvilagus
      • Desert Cottontail, Sylvilagus audubonii
      • Manzano Mountain Cottontail, Sylvilagus cognatus
      • Mexican Cottontail, Sylvilagus cunicularius
        • Sylvilagus cunicularius cunicularius
        • Sylvilagus cunicularius insolitus
        • Sylvilagus cunicularius pacificus
      • Eastern Cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus alacer
        • Sylvilagus floridanus ammophilus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus avius
        • Sylvilagus floridanus aztecus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus chapmani
        • Sylvilagus floridanus chiapensis
        • Sylvilagus floridanus cognatus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus connectens
        • Sylvilagus floridanus continentis
        • Sylvilagus floridanus costaricensis
        • Sylvilagus floridanus cumanicus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus floridanus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus hesperius
        • Sylvilagus floridanus hitchensi
        • Sylvilagus floridanus holzneri
        • Sylvilagus floridanus hondurensis
        • Sylvilagus floridanus llanensis
        • Sylvilagus floridanus mallurus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus margaritae
        • Sylvilagus floridanus mearnsi
        • Sylvilagus floridanus nelsoni
        • Sylvilagus floridanus nigronuchalis
        • Sylvilagus floridanus orinoci
        • Sylvilagus floridanus orizabae
        • Sylvilagus floridanus paulsoni
        • Sylvilagus floridanus purgatus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus restrictus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus robustus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus russatus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus similis
        • Sylvilagus floridanus subcinctus
        • Sylvilagus floridanus superciliaris
        • Sylvilagus floridanus valenciae
        • Sylvilagus floridanus yucatanicus
      • Tres Marias Rabbit, Sylvilagus graysoni
        • Sylvilagus graysoni graysoni
        • Sylvilagus graysoni badistes
      • Mountain Cottontail, Sylvilagus nuttallii
        • Sylvilagus nuttallii nuttallii
        • Sylvilagus nuttallii pinetis
        • Sylvilagus nuttallii grangeri
      • Appalachian Cottontail or rarely Allegheny Cottontail, Sylvilagus obscurus
      • Robust Rabbit, Sylvilagus robustus
      • New England Cottontail, Sylvilagus transitionalis
    • Subgenus Microlagus
      • Brush Rabbit, Sylvilagus bachmani
        • Sylvilagus bachmani bachmani
        • Sylvilagus bachmani cinerascens
        • Sylvilagus bachmani peninsularis
        • Sylvilagus bachmani cerrosensis
        • Sylvilagus bachmani ubericolor
        • Sylvilagus bachmani exiguus
        • Sylvilagus bachmani mariposae
        • Sylvilagus bachmani virgulti
        • Sylvilagus bachmani howelli
        • Sylvilagus bachmani macrorhinus
        • Sylvilagus bachmani riparius
        • Sylvilagus bachmani tehamae
        • Sylvilagus bachmani rosaphagus
      • San Jose Brush Rabbit, Sylvilagus mansuetus

References

  1. ^ Hoffmann, Robert S.; Andrew T. Smith (November 16, 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 207-211. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
  2. ^ Carter, G.R.; Wise, D.J. (2006). Poxviridae. A Concise Review of Veterinary Virology. Retrieved on 2006-06-13.
  3. ^ 'Hefner' bunnies get help as population dwindles, May 20 2007, CNN.com, Retrieved May 20 2007

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Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Cottontail rabbit" Read more

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