Editing Cottontail rabbit

{{Short description|Genus of mammals}}
{{redirect|Cottontail}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Cottontail rabbits<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Lagomorpha | id = 13500281 | pages = 207–211 | 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>

== Etymology ==
The [[genus|generic]] name ''Sylvilagus'' is derived from Latin ''sylva'' (woods) and ''lagus'' (hare), together meaning "hare of the woods".<ref name="eighteen">Cervantes, Fernando, and Consuelo Lorenzo. "[http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-568-01-0001.pdf Mammalian Species.]" Sylvilagus insonus . 568. (1997): 1-4. Print.</ref>

== Evolution ==
Cottontails are one of several species of ''Sylvilagus''.  Their closest relative is ''[[Brachylagus]]'', the pygmy rabbit. They are more distantly related to the [[European rabbit|European]] and other rabbits, and more distantly still to the [[Lepus|hares]]. The [[cladogram]] is based on [[nuclear gene|nuclear]] and [[mitochondrial gene]] analysis.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ruedas |first1=Luis A. |last2=Marques Silva |first2=Sofia |display-authors=et al |title=Taxonomy of the ''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'' complex in Central and South America (Lagomorpha: Leporidae) |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |date=October 2019 |volume=100 |issue=5 |pages=1599–1630 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyz126|s2cid=202855918 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kraatz |first1=Brian P. |display-authors=et al |title=Ecological correlates to cranial morphology in Leporids (Mammalia, Lagomorpha) |journal=PeerJ |date=2015 |volume=3 |pages=e844 |doi=10.7717/peerj.844 |pmid=25802812 |pmc=4369340 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Iraçabal-2024">{{Cite journal |last1=Iraçabal |first1=Leandro |last2=Barbosa |first2=Matheus R. |last3=Selvatti |first3=Alexandre Pedro |last4=Russo |first4=Claudia Augusta de Moraes |date=2024 |title=Molecular time estimates for the Lagomorpha diversification |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=19 |issue=9 |pages=e0307380 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0307380 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11379240 |pmid=39241029}}</ref> 

{{clade
|label1='''Cottontails'''
|1={{clade
   |1={{clade
      |1={{clade
         |1={{clade
            |1={{clade
               |1={{clade
                  |1={{clade
                     |1=''[[Sylvilagus audubonii]]''
                     |2=''[[Sylvilagus nuttallii]]''
                     }}
                  |2={{clade
                     |1=''[[Sylvilagus aquaticus]]''
                     |2=''[[Sylvilagus palustris]]''
                     }}
                  }}
               |2={{clade
                  |1={{clade
                     |1=''[[Sylvilagus transitionalis]]''
                     |2=''[[Sylvilagus obscurus]]''
                     }}
                  |2={{clade
                     |1=''[[Sylvilagus floridanus]]''   
                     |2=''[[Sylvilagus robustus]]''
                     }}
                  }}
               }}
            |2={{clade
               |1=''[[Sylvilagus brasiliensis]]''
               |2=''[[Sylvilagus dicei]]''
               }}
            }}
         }}
      |2={{clade
           |1=''[[Sylvilagus bachmani]]''
           |2=''[[Sylvilagus mansuetus]]''
           }}
     }}
|2=''[[Sylvilagus andinus]]''
  }}
}}

== Lifespan ==

The lifespan of a cottontail averages about two years, depending on the location. Almost every living [[carnivorous]] creature comparable to or larger in size than these [[lagomorph]]s is a potential predator, including such diverse creatures as domestic dogs, cats, humans, [[snakes]], [[coyotes]], [[mountain lions]], [[foxes]], and if the cottontail is showing signs of illness, even [[squirrel]]s. The cottontail's most frequent predators are various [[birds of prey]]. Cottontails can also be parasitized by botfly species including ''[[Cuterebra fontinella]]''.<ref>
{{cite journal |vauthors=Jennison CA, Rodas LR, Barrett GW |title=''Cuterebra fontinella'' parasitism on ''Peromyscus leucopus'' and ''Ochrotomys nuttalli''.|journal=Southeastern Naturalist |volume=5 |issue=1|pages=157–168 |year=2006|doi=10.1656/1528-7092(2006)5[157:CFPOPL]2.0.CO;2}}</ref> Newborn cottontails are particularly vulnerable to these attacks. Cottontails use burrows vacated by other animals, and the burrows are used for long enough periods that predators can learn where the cottontails reside and repeatedly return to prey on them. Though cottontails are prolific animals that can have multiple litters in a year, few of the resulting offspring survive to adulthood. Those that do survive grow very quickly and are full grown adults at three months.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Sylvilagus floridanus'' |url=http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/cottontail.htm |access-date=28 June 2017}}</ref>

== Eating mechanics ==
In contrast to [[rodent]]s, which generally sit on their hind legs and hold food with their front paws while feeding, cottontail rabbits eat while on all fours. Cottontail rabbits typically only use their nose to move and adjust the position of the food that it places directly in front of its front paws on the ground. The cottontail will turn the food with its nose to find the cleanest part of the vegetation (free of sand and inedible parts) to begin its meal. The only time a cottontail uses its front paws while feeding is when vegetation is above its head on a living plant, at which point the cottontail will lift its paw to bend the branch to bring the food within reach.<ref>{{cite web|title=Small mammals|url=http://www.jeffersoncountytrails.org/news-signs/SmallMammals2OCT11.pdf}}</ref>

Cottontails are rarely found foraging for food on windy days, because the wind interferes with their hearing capabilities. Hearing an incoming predator before they get close enough to attack is their primary defense mechanism.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rabbits and Hares|date=22 April 2008 |url=http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/rabbit-info2.htm}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Juvenile Cottontail Rabbit.jpg| Juvenile cottontail standing in anticipation of food
File:15 for Dinner.jpg|Cottontails are very sociable animals within their peer group
File:Cottontail age comparison-2.jpg|Male desert cottontail at 8 weeks, and the same cottontail at 16 months of age
</gallery>

== Species ==
[[File:Fossil Sylvilagus.jpg|thumb|right|[[Pleistocene]] fossil]]

The subgenera were described in the 19th century based on limited morphological data that have been shown to not be of great use, nor to depict phylogenetic relationships.  Molecular studies (limited in scope to the mitochondrial 12S gene) have shown that the currently accepted subgeneric structure,<ref name = MSW3/> while of some heuristic value, is unlikely to withstand additional scrutiny.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Ruedas LA, Silva SM, French JM, ((Platt II RN)), Salazar-Bravo J, Mora JM, Thompson CW |date=February 9, 2017 |title=A prolegomenon to the systematics of South American cottontail rabbits (Mammalia, Lagomorpha, Leporidae: ''Sylvilagus''): designation of a neotype for ''S. brasiliensis'' (Linnaeus, 1758), and restoration of ''S. andinus'' (Thomas, 1897) and ''S. tapetillus'' Thomas, 1913 |journal=Miscellaneous Publications |publisher=Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan |location=Ann Arbor |issue=205 |pages=i-iv, 1–67 |issn=0076-8405 |hdl=2027.42/136089 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
! Subgenus
! Image
! Common name
! Scientific name
! Distribution
|-
! style="text-align:center;" | ''Microlagus''
|[[File:Sylvilagus bachmani 01035t.JPG|120px]]
|[[Brush rabbit]]
|''Sylvilagus bachmani''
|West coast of North America, from the Columbia River in Oregon to the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. Isolated subspecies, [[San Jose brush rabbit]], on San José Island in the Gulf of California. 
|-
! rowspan="8" style="text-align:center;" | ''Sylvilagus''
|[[File:Joshua Tree NP - Cottontail - 1d.jpg|120px]]
|[[Desert cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus audubonii''
| Western United States from eastern Montana to western Texas, California and in Northern and Central Mexico
|-
|[[File:Sylvilagus cunicularius2.jpg|120px]]
|[[Mexican cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus cunicularius''
|Mexico from the state of Sinaloa to the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz
|-
|[[File:Tochtli-Rabbit-Conejo.jpg|120px]]
|[[Eastern cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus floridanus''
|eastern and south-central United States, southern Canada, eastern Mexico, Central America and northernmost South America
|-
|[[File:Sylvilagus graysoni.jpg|120px]]
|[[Tres Marias cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus graysoni''
| Tres Marias Islands, Mexico
|-
|[[File:Sylvilagus nuttallii (29723452411).jpg|120px]]
|[[Mountain cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus nuttallii''
| [[Intermountain west]] of Canada and the United States 
|-
|[[File:Sylvilagus obscurus 1.jpg|120px]]
| [[Appalachian cottontail]] or Allegheny cottontail
|''Sylvilagus obscurus''
|eastern United States
|-
|[[File:Sylvilagus robustus imported from iNaturalist photo 64270774 on 9 September 2021.jpg|frameless|120x120px]]
|[[Robust cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus holzneri''
|southwestern United States and adjacent Mexico
|-
|[[File:New England cottontail rabbit animal sylvilagus transitionalis.jpg|120px]]
|[[New England cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus transitionalis''
| New England, specifically from southern Maine to southern New York
|-
! rowspan="18" style="text-align:center;" | ''Tapeti''
|[[File:Sylvilagus brasiliensis andinus (12687595295).jpg|frameless|119x119px]]
|[[Andean tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus andinus''
| Venezuela south to Peru
|-
|
|[[Bogota tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus apollinaris''
|Colombia
|-
|[[File:Swamp Rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus).jpg|120px]]
|[[Swamp rabbit]]
|''Sylvilagus aquaticus'' 
|  southern United States 
|-
|[[File:Sylvilagus brasiliensis1.jpg|120px]]
|[[Common tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'' 
| Brazil (Venezuela to Argentina when the many unclassified populations are included)
|-
|
|[[Ecuadorian tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus daulensis''
|Ecuador
|-
|
|[[Dice's cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus dicei'' 
| Costa Rica and Panama
|-
|
|[[Fulvous tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus fulvescens''
|Colombia
|-
|
|[[Central American tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus gabbi''
|Mexico to Panama
|-
|
|[[Northern tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus incitatus''
|San Miguel Island, Panama
|-
|
|[[Omilteme cottontail]]
|''Sylvilagus insonus''
|  Guerrero, Mexico
|-
|
|[[Nicefor's tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus nicefori''
|Colombia
|-
|[[File:Marsh Rabbit.jpg|120px]]
|[[Marsh rabbit]]
|''Sylvilagus palustris''
| southeastern United States
|-
|
|[[Suriname tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus parentum''
|  western Suriname
|-
|
|[[Colombian tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus salentus''
|Colombia
|-
|
|[[Santa Marta tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus sanctaemartae''
|Colombia
|-
|
|[[Western tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus surdaster''
|Ecuador
|-
|
| [[Coastal tapeti]]
|''Sylvilagus tapetillus''
| Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|-
|
|[[Venezuelan lowland rabbit]]
|''Sylvilagus varynaensis''
| western Venezuela
|-
|}
[[File:Sylvilagus webbi FLMNH.jpg|thumb|Fossil skeleton of the extinct [[Early Pleistocene]]-aged ''[[Sylvilagus webbi]]'', [[Florida Museum of Natural History]]|left]]

=== Prehistoric species ===
*''[[Sylvilagus hibbardi]]'' (Early-Mid Pleistocene) {{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
*''[[Sylvilagus leonensis]]'' - Dwarf cottontail (Late Pleistocene)
*''[[Sylvilagus webbi]]'' (Pleistocene) {{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Clear}}
{{Lagomorpha|L.}}
{{Lagomorpha Genera|Le.|state=collapsed}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q748448}}

[[Category:Sylvilagus| ]]
[[Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray]]