Editing Rabbit (section)

==Taxonomy and evolution==
{{see also|List of leporids}}

Rabbits and hares were formerly classified in the order [[Rodent]]ia (rodents) until 1912, when they were moved into the order [[Lagomorpha]] (which also includes [[pika]]s). Since 1945, there has been support for the clade [[Glires]] that includes both rodents and lagomorphs,<ref>{{Citation |last=Korth |first=William W. |title=Classification of Rodents |date=1994 |work=The Tertiary Record of Rodents in North America |series=Topics in Geobiology |volume=12 |pages=27–34 |editor-last= |editor-first= |url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4899-1444-6_4 |access-date=2024-09-16 |place=Boston, MA |publisher=Springer US |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-1444-6_4 |isbn=978-1-4899-1444-6|url-access=subscription }}</ref> though the two groups have always been closely associated in taxonomy; fossil,<ref>{{Cite journal  |vauthors=Asher RJ, Meng J, Wible JR, etal |title=Stem Lagomorpha and the antiquity of Glires |journal=Science |volume=307 |issue=5712 |pages=1091–4 |date=February 2005 |pmid=15718468 |doi=10.1126/science.1107808 |bibcode=2005Sci...307.1091A |s2cid=42090505 }}</ref> [[DNA]],<ref>{{Unbulleted list citebundle|{{Cite journal  |vauthors=Madsen O, Scally M, Douady CJ, etal |title=Parallel adaptive radiations in two major clades of placental mammals |journal=Nature |volume=409 |issue=6820 |pages=610–4 |date=February 2001 |pmid=11214318 |doi=10.1038/35054544|bibcode=2001Natur.409..610M |s2cid=4398233 |ref=none}}|{{Cite journal |vauthors=Murphy WJ, Eizirik E, Johnson WE, Zhang YP, Ryder OA, O'Brien SJ |title=Molecular phylogenetics and the origins of placental mammals |journal=Nature |volume=409 |issue=6820 |pages=614–8 |date=February 2001 |pmid=11214319 |doi=10.1038/35054550|bibcode=2001Natur.409..614M |s2cid=4373847 |ref=none}}}}</ref> and [[retrotransposon]]<ref name="Kriegs" /> studies in the 2000s have solidified support for the clade. Studies in [[paleontology]] and [[molecular biology]] suggest that rodents and lagomorphs [[Divergent evolution|diverged]] at the start of the [[Tertiary]] period.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Huchon |first1=Dorothée |last2=Madsen |first2=Ole |last3=Sibbald |first3=Mark J. J. B. |last4=Ament |first4=Kai |last5=Stanhope |first5=Michael J. |last6=Catzeflis |first6=François |last7=de Jong |first7=Wilfried W. |last8=Douzery |first8=Emmanuel J. P. |date=2002-07-01 |title=Rodent Phylogeny and a Timescale for the Evolution of Glires: Evidence from an Extensive Taxon Sampling Using Three Nuclear Genes |url=https://academic.oup.com/mbe/article/19/7/1053/1068579 |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=19 |issue=7 |pages=1053–1065 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a004164 |pmid=12082125 |issn=1537-1719}}</ref>
<!--<gallery class="center" mode="nolines" heights="200" widths="200">
File:BRACHYLAGUS IDAHOENSIS.jpg|alt=A small, round, dust-coloured rabbit with upright, close-set ears sat on the ground amidst dead branches.|''[[Brachylagus idahoensis]]''{{pb}}Pygmy rabbit
File:Sumatran Striped Rabbit Recontruction.jpg|alt=A model of a relatively large rabbit, with a slightly longer face and shorter, rounder ears, and fur patterned black and gold.|''[[Nesolagus netscheri]]''{{pb}}Sumatran striped rabbit{{pb}}{{small|(Model)}}
File:Oryctolagus cuniculus Tasmania 2.jpg|alt=A small, light-brown rabbit with upright ears sat on some grass.|''[[Oryctolagus cuniculus]]''{{pb}}European rabbit{{pb}}{{small|(Feral Tasmanian specimen)}}
File:Amami rabbit Stuffed specimen.jpg|alt=A taxidermy of a large rabbit with dark brown fur, small, thin ears and an elongated, rodent-like face.|''[[Pentalagus furnessi]]''{{pb}}Amami rabbit{{pb}}{{small|(Taxidermy specimen)}}
File:Romerolagus diazi - Zoologico de Chapultepec, Ciudad de México - Cropped2x.jpg|alt=A very small brown rabbit among leaf litter under wiry brush. Its features are equally small, appearing similar to a vole.|''[[Romerolagus diazi]]''{{pb}}Volcano rabbit
File:Southern swamp rabbit baby.jpg|alt=A juvenile rabbit sat on a white person's hand; its fur is a light brown ticked heavily with dark brown. It is not quite large enough to fill the person's hand completely.|''[[Sylvilagus aquaticus]]''{{pb}}Swamp rabbit{{pb}}{{small|(Juvenile)}}
File:What's Up Doc.jpg|alt=A medium-sized rabbit with light brown fur ticked with grey, its ears large and upright. It stands on all fours on some sandy ground.|''[[Sylvilagus audubonii]]''{{pb}}Desert cottontail
File:Sylvilagus bachmani 01035t.JPG|alt=A light-brown rabbit sitting in a field, its body unusually large and squat, its limbs and head small, and its ears especially small|''[[Sylvilagus bachmani]]''{{pb}}Brush rabbit
File:Sylvilagus brasiliensis 188938971.jpg|alt=A small rabbit coming out of foliage, its fur a warm brown ticked with a dark brown, its ears small and set back, its face closer to a vole's than a rabbit's|''[[Sylvilagus brasiliensis]]''{{pb}}Tapeti
File:Eastern Cottontail.JPG|alt=A rabbit sitting upright in a field, turning to face the camera, its fur a light brown ticked with grey and dark brown, its ears upright|''[[Sylvilagus floridanus]]''{{pb}}Eastern cottontail
</gallery>-->{{cladogram|clades={{clade
|1={{clade
   |1=''[[Nesolagus]]'' (striped rabbits)
   |2={{clade
      |1=''[[Poelagus]]'' (Bunyoro rabbit)
      |2=''[[Pronolagus]]''&nbsp;(red&nbsp;rock&nbsp;hares)
      }}
   }}
|2={{clade
   |1=''[[Romerolagus]]'' (volcano rabbit)
   |2={{clade
      |1={{clade
         |1={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1=''[[Sylvilagus]]'' (cottontails) [[File:Wild animals of North America, intimate studies of big and little creatures of the mammal kingdom (Page 511) (Sylvilagus palustris).jpg|50 px]]
               |2=''[[Brachylagus]]''&nbsp;(pygmy&nbsp;rabbit)
               }}
            |2={{clade
               |1={{clade
                  |1=''[[Hispid hare|Caprolagus]]'' (hispid hare)
                  |2=''[[Oryctolagus]]''&nbsp;(European&nbsp;rabbit) [[File:Lepus cuniculus - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica -(white background).jpg|60 px]]
                  }}
               |2={{clade
                  |1=''[[Bunolagus]]'' (riverine rabbit)
                  |2=''[[Pentalagus]]''&nbsp;(Amami&nbsp;rabbit)
                  }}
               }}
            }}
         }}
      |2=''[[Lepus]]'' (hares) [[File:Lepus timidus - 1700-1880 - Print - Iconographia Zoologica -(white background).jpg|60 px]]
      }}
  }}
}}}}
The extant species of family Leporidae, of which there are more than 70, are contained within 11 [[genus|genera]], one of which is ''[[Lepus]]'', the hares. There are 32 extant species within ''Lepus''. The cladogram is from Matthee et al., 2004, based on nuclear and mitochondrial gene analysis.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Matthee |first1=Conrad A. |display-authors=etal |date=2004 |title=A Molecular Supermatrix of the Rabbits and Hares (Leporidae) Allows for the Identification of Five Intercontinental Exchanges During the Miocene |journal=Systematic Biology |volume=53 |issue=3 |pages=433–477 |doi=10.1080/10635150490445715 |pmid=15503672 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Classification===
{{div col|colwidth=35em}}
* Order '''[[Lagomorpha]]'''
** Family '''[[Leporidae]]''' (in part):<ref name=MSW>{{MSW3 Hoffmann|pages=194–211}}</ref>
* Genus ''[[Pygmy rabbit|Brachylagus]]''
** [[Pygmy rabbit]], ''Brachylagus idahoensis''
* Genus ''[[Bushman rabbit|Bunolagus]]''
** [[Riverine rabbit]], ''Bunolagus monticularis''
* Genus ''[[Caprolagus]]''
** [[Hispid hare]], ''Caprolagus hispidus''
* Genus ''[[Hare|Lepus]]''{{efn|This genus is a hare, not a rabbit.}}
* Genus ''[[Nesolagus]]''
** [[Sumatran striped rabbit]], ''Nesolagus netscheri''
** [[Annamite striped rabbit]], ''Nesolagus timminsi''
* Genus ''[[European rabbit|Oryctolagus]]''
** [[European rabbit]], ''Oryctolagus cuniculus''
* Genus ''[[Amami rabbit|Pentalagus]]''
** [[Amami rabbit|Amami rabbit/Ryūkyū rabbit]], ''Pentalagus furnessi''
* Genus ''[[Central African Rabbit|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''
** [[Hewitt's red rock hare]], ''Pronolagus saundersiae''
* Genus ''[[Volcano rabbit|Romerolagus]]''
** [[Volcano rabbit]], ''Romerolagus diazi''
* Genus ''[[Sylvilagus]]''
** [[Andean tapeti]], ''Sylvilagus andinus''
** [[Swamp rabbit]], ''Sylvilagus aquaticus''
** [[Desert cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus audubonii''
** [[Brush rabbit]], ''Sylvilagus bachmani''
** [[Common tapeti]], ''Sylvilagus brasiliensis''
** [[Mexican cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus cunicularis''
** [[Dice's cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus dicei''
** [[Eastern cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus floridanus''
** [[Central American tapeti]], ''Sylvilagus gabbi''
** [[Tres Marias cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus graysoni''
** [[Robust cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus holzneri''
** [[Omilteme cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus insonus''
** [[Mountain cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus nuttallii''
** [[Appalachian cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus obscurus''
** [[Marsh rabbit]], ''Sylvilagus palustris''
** [[Santa Marta tapeti]], ''Sylvilagus sanctaemartae''
** [[Coastal tapeti]], ''Sylvilagus tapetillus''
** [[New England cottontail]], ''Sylvilagus transitionalis''
** [[Venezuelan lowland rabbit]], ''Sylvilagus varynaensis''

{{div col end}}

===Differences from hares===
{{Main|Hare}}
{{Multiple image
| align     = right
| direction = horizontal
| image1    = Meyer Zeit-Vertreib 2 Tafel 032.jpg
| width1    = 199
| caption1  = Hare{{pb}}{{small|Johann Daniel Meyer (1748)}}
| image2    = Meyer Zeit-Vertreib 1 Tafel 083.jpg
| width2    = 205
| caption2  = Rabbit{{pb}}{{small|Johann Daniel Meyer (1748)}}
}}

The term ''rabbit'' is typically used for all Leporidae species, excluding the genus ''Lepus''. Members of that genus are known as ''hares''{{sfn|Alves|Ferrand|Hackländer|2008|pages=1-9}} or ''jackrabbits''.{{sfn|Varga|2013|page=3}}

''Lepus'' species are [[precocial]], born relatively mature and mobile with hair and good vision out in the open air, while rabbit species are [[altricial]], born hairless and blind in burrows and buried nests.{{sfn|Nowak|1999|page=1720}} Hares are also generally larger than rabbits, and have longer [[pregnancy|pregnancies]].{{sfn|Alves|Ferrand|Hackländer|2008|pages=1-9}} Hares and some rabbits live relatively solitary lives above the ground in open grassy areas,{{sfn|Nowak|1999|pages=1733-1738}} interacting mainly during breeding season.{{Sfn|Angerbjörn|Schai-Braun|2023|pp=205-206}}<ref name="CapeHare">{{Citation |last1=Scandura |first1=Massimo |title=Cape Hare Lepus capensis Linnaeus, 1758 |date=2023 |work=Primates and Lagomorpha |pages=79–98 |editor-last=Hackländer |editor-first=Klaus |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_10 |access-date=2024-09-16 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-34043-8_10 |isbn=978-3-030-34042-1 |last2=De Marinis |first2=Anna Maria |last3=Canu |first3=Antonio |editor2-last=Alves |editor2-first=Paulo C.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some rabbit species group together to reduce their chance of being preyed upon,<ref name=":9">{{Citation |last1=Bell |first1=Diana |title=Rabbits and Hares |date=2006 |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Mammals |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199206087.001.0001/acref-9780199206087-e-118 |access-date=2024-10-09 |publisher=Oxford University Press |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199206087.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-920608-7 |last2=Smith |first2=Andrew T.|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and the European rabbit will form large social groups in [[burrow]]s,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rodríguez-Martínez |first1=Luisa |last2=Hudson |first2=Robyn |last3=Martínez-Gómez |first3=Margarita |last4=Bautista |first4=Amando |date=January 2014 |title=Description of the nursery burrow of the Mexican cottontail rabbit Sylvilagus cunicularius under seminatural conditions |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13364-012-0125-6 |journal=Acta Theriologica |language=en |volume=59 |issue=1 |pages=193–201 |doi=10.1007/s13364-012-0125-6 |issn=0001-7051|url-access=subscription }}</ref> which are grouped together to form [[warren (burrow)|warren]]s.{{Sfn|Delibes-Mateos|Rödel|Rouco|Alves|2023|pp=44-45}}{{sfn|Varga|2013|pages=3-4}} Burrowing by hares varies by location, and is more prominent in younger members of the genus;{{Sfn|Angerbjörn|Schai-Braun|2023|p=|pp=205-206}} many rabbit species that do not dig their own burrows will use the burrows of other animals.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Desert Cottontail (''Sylvilagus audubonii'') |url=http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/cotton/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170611100626/http://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/cotton/ |archive-date=2017-06-11 |website=Texas Parks & Wildlife}}</ref><ref name="Chapman1990">{{cite book |last1=Chapman |first1=Joseph |title=Rabbits, hares, and pikas : status survey and conservation action plan |date=1990 |publisher=International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |isbn=2-8317-0019-1 |page=99}}</ref>

Rabbits and hares have historically not occupied the same locations, and only became [[sympatric]] relatively recently; historic accounts describe antagonistic relationships between rabbits and hares, specifically between the [[European hare]] and [[European rabbit|European]] or [[cottontail rabbit]]s, but scientific literature since 1956 has found no evidence of aggression or undue competition between rabbits and hares. When they appear in the same habitat, rabbits and hares can co-exist on similar diets.{{sfn|Alves|Ferrand|Hackländer|2008|pages=241-249}} Hares will notably force other hare species out of an area to control resources, but are not territorial.{{Sfn|Angerbjörn|Schai-Braun|2023|pp=119–219}} When faced with predators, hares will escape by outrunning them, whereas rabbits, being smaller and less able to reach the high speeds of longer-legged hares, will try to seek cover.<ref name=":9" />

Descendants of the [[European rabbit]] are commonly bred as livestock and kept as pets, whereas no hares have been [[domesticated]], though populations have been introduced to non-native habitats for use as a food source.{{sfn|Nowak|1999|pages=1733-1738}} The breed known as the [[Belgian hare]] is actually a [[domestic rabbit]] which has been selectively bred to resemble a hare,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lyon |first=M. W. |date=1916 |title=Belgian Hare, A Misleading Misnomer |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1639908 |journal=Science |volume=43 |issue=1115 |pages=686–687 |doi=10.1126/science.43.1115.686.b |jstor=1639908 |pmid=17831801 |issn=0036-8075|url-access=subscription }}</ref> most likely from [[Flemish Giant rabbit|Flemish Giant]] stock originally.<ref>{{DomesticRabbitsWhitman|pages=74-95}}</ref> Common names of hare and rabbit species may also be confused; "jackrabbits" refer to hares, and the [[hispid hare]] is a rabbit.<ref name=":10">{{Citation |last=Toddes |first=Barbara |title=Lagomorpha Diet |date=2022 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior |pages=3823–3826 |editor-last=Vonk |editor-first=Jennifer |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1209 |access-date=2024-11-13 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-319-55065-7_1209 |isbn=978-3-319-55064-0 |editor2-last=Shackelford |editor2-first=Todd K.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

===Domestication===
{{Main|Domestic rabbit}}

Rabbits, specifically the European rabbit (''Oryctolagus cuniculus'') species, have long been domesticated. The European rabbit has been widely kept as livestock, starting in [[ancient Rome]] from at least the first century BC. [[Selective breeding]], which began in the Middle Ages, has generated a [[List of rabbit breeds|wide variety of rabbit breeds]], of which many (since the early 19th century) are also kept as pets.<ref name="Irving-PeaseFrantz2018">{{cite journal|last1=Irving-Pease|first1=Evan K.|last2=Frantz|first2=Laurent A.F.|last3=Sykes|first3=Naomi|last4=Callou|first4=Cécile|last5=Larson|first5=Greger|title=Rabbits and the Specious Origins of Domestication|journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution|volume=33|issue=3|pages=149–152|year=2018|issn=0169-5347|doi=10.1016/j.tree.2017.12.009|pmid=29454669|bibcode=2018TEcoE..33..149I |s2cid=3380288 |url=http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/34474}}</ref> Some [[Strain (biology)|strains]] of European rabbit have been bred specifically as [[Animal testing|research subjects]], such as the [[New Zealand white]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mapara |first1=M. |last2=Thomas |first2=B. |last3=Bhat |first3=K. |date=2012 |title=Rabbit as an animal model for experimental research |journal=Dental Research Journal |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=111–8 |doi=10.4103/1735-3327.92960 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |pmc=3283968 |pmid=22363373 |quote=Amongst various strains, New Zealand white strains of rabbits are commonly being used for research activities. These strains are less aggressive in nature and have less health problems as compared with other breeds. |doi-access=free}}</ref>

As livestock, European rabbits are bred for their meat and [[Rabbit hair|fur]]. The earliest breeds were important sources of meat,<ref>{{Cite book |author=Julie Kimber |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JWpODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |title=Issues on War and Peace |author2=Phillip Deery |author3=Warwick Eather |author4=Drew Cottle |author5=Michael Hamel-Green |author6=Nic Maclelland |author7=Doris LeRoy |author8=Jeanette Debney-Joyce |author9=Jonathan Strauss |date=2014 |publisher=Australian Society for the Study of Labour History/Leftbank Press |isbn=978-0-9803883-3-6 |page=10 |author10=David Faber}}</ref><ref name="meatsci">{{Cite journal |author1=Marco Cullere |author2=Antonella Dalle Zotte |date=2018 |title=Rabbit meat production and consumption: State of knowledge and future perspectives |journal=Meat Science |volume=143 |pages=137–146 |doi=10.1016/j.meatsci.2018.04.029 |pmid=29751220}}</ref> and so were bred to be larger than wild rabbits at younger ages,<ref name="meatproduction">{{Citation |title=Meat Production |date=2022-05-11 |work=Rabbit Production |pages=274–277 |url=http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781789249811.0023 |access-date=2024-05-23 |edition=10 |place=GB |publisher=CABI |language=en |doi=10.1079/9781789249811.0023 |isbn=978-1-78924-978-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref> but domestic rabbits in modern times range in size from [[Dwarf rabbit|dwarf]] to [[Flemish Giant rabbit|giant]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tislerics |first=Ati |title=''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Oryctolagus_cuniculus/#3a0538fe6c2441bc4dad900e89213ec7 |access-date=May 21, 2024 |website=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref><ref name="Fiorello">{{cite journal |last1=Fiorello |first1=Christine V. |last2=German |first2=R.Z. |date=February 1997 |title=Heterochrony within species: craniofacial growth in giant, standard, and dwarf rabbits |journal=Evolution |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=250–261 |doi=10.1111/j.1558-5646.1997.tb02406.x |pmid=28568789 |s2cid=205780205 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Rabbit fur, produced as a byproduct of meat production but occasionally selected for as in the case of the [[Rex rabbit]],<ref name="rabprobreeds2">{{Citation |title=Rabbit Breeds |date=2022-05-11 |work=Rabbit Production |pages=23–28 |url=http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781789249811.0003 |access-date=2024-05-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514151434/https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781789249811.0003 |archive-date=2024-05-14 |url-status=live |edition=10 |place=GB |publisher=CABI |language=en |doi=10.1079/9781789249811.0003 |isbn=978-1-78924-978-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref> can be found in a broad range of [[coat (animal)|coat]] colors and patterns, some of which are produced via [[dyeing]].<ref name="pg268">{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Susan |url=https://archive.org/details/storiesrabbitste0000davi/page/268/mode/2up |title=Stories Rabbits Tell |date=2003 |publisher=Lantern Books |isbn=978-1-59056-044-0 |page=268}}</ref> Some breeds are raised for their wool, such as the [[Angora rabbit]] breeds;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Campbell |first=Darlene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y6njl3w0qEQC |title=Proper Care of Rabbits |date=1995 |publisher=TFH Publications, Incorporated |isbn=978-0-86622-196-2 |page=206}}</ref> their fur is sheared, combed or [[Plucking (hair removal)|plucked]], and the fibers are spun into [[yarn]].<ref name="Angora Wool Production">{{Citation |last1=Samson |first1=Leslie |title=Angora Wool Production |date=2022-05-11 |work=Rabbit Production |pages=292–302 |url=http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9781789249811.0022 |access-date=2024-05-26 |edition=10 |place=GB |publisher=CABI |language=en |doi=10.1079/9781789249811.0022 |isbn=978-1-78924-978-1|url-access=subscription }}</ref>