Nesolagus

Nesolagus
Sumatran striped rabbit
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Lagomorpha
Family:	Leporidae
Genus:	Nesolagus Forsyth Major, 1899
Type species
Lepus netscheri Schlegel, 1880
Species
Nesolagus netscheri Nesolagus timminsi Nesolagus sinensis †

Nesolagus is a genus of rabbits ^[1] containing three species of striped rabbit: the Annamite striped rabbit, the Sumatran striped rabbit, and the extinct species N. sinensis. Overall there is very little known about the genus as a whole, most information coming from the Sumatran rabbit.

Taxonomy

Until 1996, the only known species belonging to the genus Nesolagus was the Sumatran striped rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri), a species restricted to the Sumatran mountain range of Bukit Barisan ^[2] which was described in 1880 (as Lepus netscheri) ^[3] by German naturalist Hermann Schlegel. ^[4] The name Nesolagus was erected by Charles Immanuel Forsyth Major in 1899, though he did not clarify if it should describe a genus on its own or a subgenus of Caprolagus ; ^[5] it was solidified as a genus containing the Sumatran striped rabbit in 1904 by Marcus Ward Lyon, Jr. in his work Classification of the Hares and their Allies. ^[6]

The genus Nesolagus includes three species, one extinct:

• Sumatran striped rabbit, Nesolagus netscheri
• Annamite striped rabbit, Nesolagus timminsi
• † Nesolagus sinensis , ^[7] early Pleistocene of China.

Behavior

Due to the small number of individuals, and because of the rare sightings of this genus, there is not much information available on its behavior. One thing that we do know however, is that the Sumatran rabbit is nocturnal and hides out in burrows which it does not make itself and does not really like to go out looking for food for itself in places that are too far from its home. ^[8]

Description

Descriptions of the species are partly based on images made by camera traps; for the Sumatran striped rabbit the cameras were set in the montane forests of Sumatra, while the Annamite Striped rabbit was seen in the Annamite mountain range of Laos and Vietnam. ^[9] Both species of striped rabbit have seven brown or black stripes and a red rump and white underside. They are the only species of rabbits to have stripes. They are relatively small with a length of about 368–417 mm (14.5–16.4 in), with a tail of about 17 mm (0.67 in) and ears about 43–45 mm (1.7–1.8 in) long. Thus the ears of Nesolagus are only about half as long as in most rabbits, e.g. in the genus Lepus. Their fur is soft and dense, overlaid by longer, harsher hairs. ^[10]

Distribution

Striped rabbits are found in only four locations. The Sumatran striped rabbit has been found in the Barisan Mountains in western Sumatra, Indonesia, and the Annamite striped rabbit has been found in the Annamite mountains on the border between Vietnam and Laos. ^[11] The fossils (parts of the left mandible with several teeth) of the extinct Nesolagus sinensis were found in Chongzou Ecological Park in the Guangnxi Zhuang region of southwest China. ^[12]

References

1. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
2. Averianov, A.O.; Abramov, A.V.; Tikhonov, A.N. (2000). "A new species of Nesolagus (Lagomorpha, Leporidae) from Vietnam with osteological description" (PDF). Contributions from the Zoological Institute, St. Petersburg (3): 1–22.
3. Schlegel, H (1880). "On an anomalous species of hare discovered in the isle of Sumatra: Lepus netscheri". Notes from the Leyden Museum (2): 59–65 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
4. Can, Dang N; Abramov, Alexei V; Tikhonov, Alexei N; Averianov, Alexander O (2001). "Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi in Vietnam". Acta Theriologica. 46 (4): 437–440. doi:10.1007/BF03192450.
5. Forsyth Major, C. I. (1899). "On Fossil and Recent Lagomorpha". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 2nd Series: Zoology. 7 (9): 514. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1899.tb002021.x.
6. Lyon, Marcus Ward Jr. (1903) [1904]. "Classification of the Hares and their Allies". Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 45 (1456): 331 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
7. Jin, ChangZu; Yukimitsu Tomida; Yuan Wang; YingQi Zhang (1 August 2010). "First discovery of fossil Nesolagus (Leporidae Lagomorpha)". Science China Earth Sciences. 53 (8): 1134–1140. doi:10.1007/s11430-010-4010-3. S2CID   88422971.
8. "Animal Info - Endangered animals". Animal Info. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
9. Allan F. O'Connell; James D. Nichols; K. Ullas Karanth, eds. (2010-09-30). Camera traps in animal ecology : methods and analyses. Tokyo: Springer. ISBN   978-4-431-99494-7.
10. Nowak, Ronald M. (1999). Walker's Mammals of the World (Sixth ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkinds University Press. p. 1723. ISBN   9780801857898 . Retrieved 15 November 2012.
11. Can; et al. (2001). "Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi in Vietnam" (PDF). Acta Theriologica. 46 (4): 437–440. doi:10.4098/at.arch.01-48.
12. Jin; et al. (2009). "First discovery of fossil Nesolagus (Leporidae, Lagomorpha) from Southeast Asia". Science China Earth Sciences. 53 (8): 1134–1140. doi:10.1007/s11430-010-4010-3. S2CID   88422971.