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Cottontail rabbit
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{{Short description|Genus of mammals}} {{redirect|Cottontail}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Cottontail rabbits<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Lagomorpha | id = 13500281 | pages = 207β211 | heading = Genus ''Sylvilagus''}}</ref> | image = Wild rabbit us.jpg | image_caption = [[Eastern cottontail]] rabbit (''S. floridanus'') | taxon = Sylvilagus | authority = [[John Edward Gray|J. E. Gray]], 1867 | type_species = [[Eastern cottontail|''Lepus sylvaticus'']] | type_species_authority = [[John Bachman|Bachman]], 1837<br>(=''Lepus sylvaticus floridanus'' [[Joel Asaph Allen|J. A. Allen]], 1890) | subdivision_ranks = [[Species]] | subdivision = 27, see [[Cottontail rabbit#Species|text]] | range_map = Sylvilagus scientific range.jpg }} [[File:North American Cottontail Rabbit.jpg|thumb|right|[[Eastern cottontail]]]] '''Cottontail rabbits''' are in the '''''Sylvilagus''''' [[genus]], which is in the family [[Leporidae]]. They are found in the [[Americas]].<ref name=MSW3 /> Most ''Sylvilagus'' species have stub tails with white undersides that show when they retreat, giving them their characteristic name. However, this feature is not present in all ''Sylvilagus'', nor is it unique to the genus. However their fur ranges from brown to gray and changes throughout the year, depending on the season.<ref name="Accelerator">{{Cite web |title=Creature feature: The prolific eastern cottontail rabbit |url=https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/cottontail-rabbit-creature-feature/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Accelerator |language=en}}</ref> The genus is widely distributed across [[North America]], [[Central America]], and northern and central [[South America]], though most species are confined to particular regions. Most species live in nests called forms, and all have [[altricial]] young. They often live on the edges of fields, farms, and other open spaces far from highly populated areas. But sometimes they make their nests in yards and parks near more people.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-13 |title=Eastern Cottontail Rabbit |url=https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/eastern-cottontail-rabbit |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=Animals |language=en}}</ref> An adult female averages three litters per year, which can be born in any season. Occurrence and litter size depend on several factors, including time of the year, weather, and location. The average litter size is four, but can range from as few as two to as many as eight, most of whom do not go on to survive to adulthood. Females typically have three litters per year and can begin reproducing when they are only six months old.<ref name="Accelerator" /> Cottontail rabbits show a greater resistance to [[myxomatosis]] than [[European rabbit]]s.<ref name=Carter>{{cite web|author1=Carter, G.R. |author2=Wise, D.J. |year=2006|title=Poxviridae|work=A Concise Review of Veterinary Virology| url=http://www.ivis.org/advances/Carter/Part2Chap10/chapter.asp?LA=1|access-date=2006-06-13}}</ref>
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