Swamp rabbit
| Swamp rabbit | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Lagomorpha |
| Family: | Leporidae |
| Genus: | Sylvilagus |
| Species: | S. aquaticus |
| Binomial name | |
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Sylvilagus aquaticus (Bachman, 1837) |
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| Swamp rabbit range | |
The swamp rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus), or swamp hare, is a large cottontail rabbit found in the swamps and wetlands of the southern United States. Other common names for the swamp rabbit include marsh rabbit and cane-cutter. The common name, along with the species name “aquaticus” (meaning found in water), are suitable names for a species with a strong preference for wet areas and that will take to the water and swim.
The swamp rabbit is found in much of the south-central United States and along the Gulf coast. It is most abundant in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, but also inhabits South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Georgia.
Swamp rabbits mainly live close to lowland water, often in cypress swamps, marshland, floodplain, and river tributaries. Swamp rabbits spend much of their time in depressions which they dig in tall grass or leaves, providing cover while they wait until the nighttime to forage.
S. aquaticus is the largest of the cottontail species, although its ears are smaller than of other cottontails.Males are slightly larger than females. The head and back are typically dark or rusty brown or black, while the throat, ventral surface, and tail are white, and there is a cinnamon-colored ring around the eye. Their sides, rump, tail and feet are much more brownish, along with a pinkish-cinnamon eye-ring, as opposed to the whitish eye-ring in eastern cottontails.
S. aquaticus males vary in weight from 1,816 grams (4.004 lb) to 2,554 grams (5.631 lb), with an average of 2,235 grams (4.927 lb); females vary from 1,646 grams (3.629 lb) to 2,668 grams (5.882 lb), averaging 2,161 grams (4.764 lb). S. aquaticus ranges in length from 452 millimetres (17.8 in) to 552 millimetres (21.7 in), with an average length of 501 millimetres (19.7 in).
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Wikipedia