House rabbit
| Domestic rabbit | |
|---|---|
.jpg) |
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Domesticated
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Lagomorpha |
| Family: | Leporidae |
| Genus: |
Oryctolagus Lilljeborg, 1873 |
| Species: | O. cuniculus |
| Binomial name | |
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Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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A domestic rabbit or domesticated rabbit (Oryctolagus), more commonly known as simply a rabbit, is any of the domesticated varieties of the European rabbit species. Rabbits were first domesticated in the Middle Ages and are used as sources of food, fur, and wool, as research subjects, and as pets. The male is called a buck and the female is a doe; a young rabbit is a kit or bunny.
Phoenician sailors visiting the coast of Spain c. 12th century BC, mistaking the European rabbit for a species from their homeland (the rock hyrax Procavia capensis), gave it the name i-shepan-ham (land or island of hyraxes). A theory exists that a corruption of this name, used by the Romans, became the Latin name for the peninsula, Hispania – although this theory is somewhat controversial. In Rome rabbits were raised in large walled colonies.
Selective breeding of rabbits began in the Middle Ages, when they were first domesticated as farm animals. By the 16th century, several new breeds of different colors and sizes were being recorded.
In the 19th century, as animal fancy in general began to emerge, rabbit fanciers began to sponsor rabbit exhibitions and fairs in Western Europe and the United States. Breeds of various domesticated animals were created and modified for the added purpose of exhibition, a departure from the breeds that had been created solely for food, fur, wool, or labor. The rabbit's emergence as a household pet began during the Victorian era.
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Wikipedia