Jungle Rabbit

[Michael]

Thecommon tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis), also known as the Brazilian cottontail, forest cottontail, or (formerly) simply tapeti is a species of cottontail rabbit. It is small to medium-sized with a small, dark tail, short hind feet, and short ears. As traditionally defined, its range extends from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, but this includes several distinctive population that have since been split into separate species. Under this narrower definition, the true common tapeti only occurs in the Atlantic Rainforest of coastal northeastern Brazil and it is classified as "Endangered" by the IUCN.[2] The American Society of Mammalogists concurs, but also tentatively classifies several distinct populations that have not yet received proper species names into S. brasiliensis, and thus considers it to range from Venezuela south to Argentina.[3]

The species was first described scientifically by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1753.[4] The type locality was in Pernambuco, Brazil.[1] In addition to its vernacular name "tapeti", it commonly known as the "forest cottontail"[5] or the "Brazilian cottontail".[6]

As many as 37 subspecies of the tapeti have been described,[7] but in 2005 Mammal Species of the World recognized 21, having placed the remaining in synonymy and considering the Dice's cottontail (S. dicei) as a separate species.[1] Nevertheless, the tapeti as traditionally defined is a species complex[8] and it was already recognized in 1990 that a taxonomic review was necessary.[2] 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),[7] S. gabbi (with subspecies truei) from Panama to Mexico,[9] S. sanctaemartae in the lowlands of northern Colombia,[8] and S. tapetillus from coastal southeastern Brazil.[7] 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.[8]

It is a solitary, nocturnal or more accurately crepuscular, animal usually seen after nightfall or before dawn, feeding on grass and browse.[10] It has also been recorded eating Harrya chromapes, a bolete mushroom.[11] It is found in forested habitats, close to swamps and along river edges, and in disturbed areas, such as gardens and plantations.[10]

The common tapeti occurs in tropical rain forests, deciduous forests, and second growth forests in Mexico and Central America, as well as pastures surrounding forest habitat. Its range extends from southern Tamaulipas in Mexico, south along the eastern coast of Mexico, through Guatemala, possibly El Salvador, Honduras, eastern Nicaragua, eastern Costa Rica, and Panama. It occurs through the northern half of South America, including Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, and much of Brazil.[2] The southern tip of its known distribution occurs in Tucuman province.[6] It occurs at elevations from sea level to 4,800 m (15,700 ft).[2]It is the only leporid species found in most of its range.[10]

Rabbits build nests built of dry grasses above the ground to rear their young. They have a central chamber and three or four smaller chambers at the end of a corridor. The gestation period varies with the geographical location. Rabbits in Chiapas, Mexico gestate for about 28 days, and have three to eight offspring, while rabbits in the Pramos of the Andes gestate for 44 days, and have an average litter size of 1.2. Both of these populations breed year-round.[12]

Like its California relative, the brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), the common tapeti is a natural reservoir for the myxoma virus.[13] This relationship was discovered by Brazilian physician Henrique de Beaurepaire Rohan Arago in the 1940s.[14] The virus causes a benign cutaneous fibroma in its hosts, but it causes the lethal disease myxomatosis, in European rabbits.[15]

Rabbits are small, furry, mammals with long ears, short fluffy tails, and strong, large hind legs. They have 2 pairs of sharp incisors (front teeth), one pair on top and one pair on the bottom. They also have 2 peg teeth behind the top incisors.

Most wild rabbits (especially compared to hares) have relatively full, egg-shaped bodies. The soft coat of the wild rabbit is agouti in coloration (or, rarely, melanistic), which aids in camouflage. The tail of the rabbit (with the exception of the cottontail species) is dark on top and white below. Cottontails have white on the top of their tails.

The anatomy of rabbits' hind limbs are structurally similar to that of other land mammals and contribute to their specialized form of locomotion. The bones of the hind limbs consist of long bones (the femur, tibia, fibula, and phalanges) as well as short bones (the tarsals). These bones are created through endochondral ossification during development. Like most land mammals, the round head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum of the ox coxae. The femur articulates with the tibia, but not the fibula, which is fused to the tibia. The tibia and fibula articulate with the tarsals of the pes, commonly called the foot. The hind limbs of the rabbit are longer than the front limbs. This allows them to produce their hopping form of locomotion. Longer hind limbs are more capable of producing faster speeds. Hares, which have longer legs than cottontail rabbits, are able to move considerably faster. Rabbits stay just on their toes when moving this is called Digitigrade locomotion. The hind feet have four long toes that allow for this and are webbed to prevent them from spreading when hopping. Rabbits do not have paw pads on their feet like most other animals that use digitigrade locomotion. Instead, they have coarse compressed hair that offers protection.

Rabbits have muscled hind legs that allow for maximum force, maneuverability, and acceleration that is divided into three main parts; foot, thigh, and leg. The hind limbs of a rabbit are an exaggerated feature, that are much longer than the forelimbs providing more force. Rabbits run on their toes to gain the optimal stride during locomotion. The force put out by the hind limbs is contributed to both the structural anatomy of the fusion tibia and fibula, and muscular features. Bone formation and removal, from a cellular standpoint, is directly correlated to hind limb muscles. Action pressure from muscles creates force that is then distributed through the skeletal structures. Rabbits that generate less force, putting less stress on bones are more prone to osteoporosis due to bone rarefaction. In rabbits, the more fibers in a muscle, the more resistant to fatigue. For example, hares have a greater resistance to fatigue than cottontails. The muscles of rabbit's hind limbs can be classified into four main categories: hamstrings, quadriceps, dorsiflexors, or plantar flexors. The quadriceps muscles are in charge of force production when jumping. Complementing these muscles are the hamstrings which aid in short bursts of action. These muscles play off of one another in the same way as the plantar flexors and doriflexors, contributing to the generation and actions associated with force.

Within the order lagomorphs, the ears are utilized to detect and avoid predators. In the family Leporidae, the ears are typically longer than they are wide. For example, in black tailed jack rabbits, their long ears cover a greater surface area relative to their body size that allow them to detect predators from far away. Contrasted to cotton tailed rabbits, their ears are smaller and shorter, requiring predators to be closer to detect them before they can flee. Evolution has favored rabbits having shorter ears so the larger surface area does not cause them to lose heat in more temperate regions. The opposite can be seen in rabbits that live in hotter climates, mainly because they possess longer ears that have a larger surface area that help with dispersion of heat as well as the theory that sound does not travel well in more arid air, opposed to cooler air. Therefore, longer ears are meant to aid the organism in detecting predators sooner rather than later in warmer temperatures. The rabbit is characterized by its shorter ears while hares are characterized by their longer ears. Rabbits' ears are an important structure to aid thermoregulation and detect predators due to how the outer, middle, and inner ear muscles coordinate with one another. The ear muscles also aid in maintaining balance and movement when fleeing predators.

In the episode "The Silver Wolf", a group of rabbits appear as a meal to the newly arrived russian Wolves. Before they could be given over to them as food, Lune (Rune) sends them all to go home safely.

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