Cottontail rabbit

The generic name Sylvilagus is derived from Latin sylva (woods) and lagus (hare), together meaning "hare of the woods".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.

Cottontails are one of several species of Sylvilagus. Their closest relative is Brachylagus, the pygmy rabbit. They are more distantly related to the European and other rabbits, and more distantly still to the hares. The cladogram is based on nuclear and mitochondrial gene analysis.{{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 }}{{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 }}{{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}}

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|1=Sylvilagus audubonii

|2=Sylvilagus nuttallii

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|1=Sylvilagus aquaticus

|2=Sylvilagus palustris

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|1=Sylvilagus transitionalis

|2=Sylvilagus obscurus

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|1=Sylvilagus floridanus

|2=Sylvilagus robustus

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|1=Sylvilagus brasiliensis

|2=Sylvilagus dicei

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|1=Sylvilagus bachmani

|2=Sylvilagus mansuetus

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|2=Sylvilagus andinus

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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 lagomorphs 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 squirrels. The cottontail's most frequent predators are various birds of prey. Cottontails can also be parasitized by botfly species including Cuterebra fontinella.

{{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}} 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.{{cite web |title=Sylvilagus floridanus |url=http://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/cottontail.htm |access-date=28 June 2017}}

In contrast to rodents, 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 use their nose only 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.{{cite web|title=Small mammals|url=http://www.jeffersoncountytrails.org/news-signs/SmallMammals2OCT11.pdf}}

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.{{cite web|title=Rabbits and Hares|date=22 April 2008 |url=http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/rabbit-info2.htm}}

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

File:Fossil Sylvilagus.jpg 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, while of some heuristic value, is unlikely to withstand additional scrutiny.{{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 }}

File:Sylvilagus webbi FLMNH.jpg-aged Sylvilagus webbi, Florida Museum of Natural History|left]]

• Sylvilagus hibbardi (Early-Mid Pleistocene) {{citation needed|date=July 2021}}
• Sylvilagus leonensis - Dwarf cottontail (Late Pleistocene)
• Sylvilagus webbi (Pleistocene) {{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

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Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray