Venezuelan lowland rabbit
{{Short description|Species of mammal}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Venezuelan lowland rabbit
| image =
| image_caption =
| status = DD | status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Sylvilagus
| species = varynaensis
| authority = Durant & Guevara, 2001
| range_map = Venezuelan Lowland Rabbit area.png
| range_map_caption = Venezuelan lowland rabbit range
}}
The Venezuelan lowland rabbit (Sylvilagus varynaensis) ({{Langx|es|conejo de monte}}), also known as the Barinas wild rabbit ({{Langx|es|conejo de Barinas}}),{{Lagomorphs2018|first1=Charlotte H.|last1=Johnston|chapter=Sylvilagus varynaensis Durant and Guevara, 2001 Venezuelan Lowland Rabbit}} is a cottontail rabbit species found in western Venezuela.{{MSW3 Lagomorpha | id = 13500363 | page = 211}}
Taxonomy
The Venezuelan lowland rabbit was described in 2001 by Durant and Guevara. In their account, they noted that the new species had much larger body measurements from the regionally known tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis), and smaller tail lengths than any local population of eastern cottontail (S. floridanus). The holotype, a female specimen collected in 1989 from Sabaneta, Barinas, Venezuela, is kept at the University of the Andes in Mérida.{{Cite journal |last1=Durant |first1=P. |last2=Guevara |first2=M. A. |date=March 2001 |title=A new rabbit species (Sylvilagus, Mammalia: Leporidae) from the lowlands of Venezuela |url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11795167 |journal=Revista de Biologia Tropical |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=369–381 |issn=0034-7744 |pmid=11795167}}
There are no subspecies of the Venezuelan lowland rabbit, and its closest relative is the tapeti. It may have some genetic relationship to the eastern cottontail,{{Lagomorphs2018|first1=Luis A.|last1=Ruedas|first2=Andrew T.|last2=Smith|chapter=Sylvilagus brasiliensis sensu stricto|pages=125-130}} but it is not included in several modern phylogenetic analyses.{{cite journal |last1=Ruedas |first1=Luis A. |last2=Marques Silva |first2=Sofia |display-authors=et al |date=October 2019 |title=Taxonomy of the Sylvilagus brasiliensis complex in Central and South America (Lagomorpha: Leporidae) |journal=Journal of Mammalogy |volume=100 |issue=5 |pages=1599–1630 |doi=10.1093/jmammal/gyz126 |s2cid=202855918 |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 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11379240 |pmid=39241029 |doi-access=free}}
Diet
Its diet consists in large measure of plants of the genus Sida.
Habitat
It is found in lowland savannas close to dry forests within the Llanos ecoregion across Barinas, Portuguesa, and Guárico.
Description
It is the largest of the rabbits known from South America within its species distribution, which is shared at least partially with the tapeti and the eastern cottontail. Its length and weight is greater than both, but the length of the Venezuelan lowland rabbit's palate is shorter than that of the eastern cottontail. The palate of the tapeti is smaller than that of the Venezuelan lowland rabbit. It has a tawny-colored nose, buff-colored cheek, above-eye, and external ear regions, and reddish fur on the back of the head to the nape, with white-furred rings around the eyes. Head and body length is about 44 cm, with females being slightly larger.
Breeding
Reproduction takes place over three quarters of the year, with an average of 2.6 embryos per litter, but most commonly during September through December. The gestation period is 35 days.
Threats
Possible threats to the species include habitat destruction by deforestation and agricultural conversion, competition with grazing livestock and hunting. They are parasitized by adult and larval stages of roundworms, as well as flatworms in genus Taenia, but negative effects on the host rabbit have not been observed.
References
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{{Lagomorpha|L.}}
{{Portal bar|Mammals}}
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