Sylvilagus floridanus

25. Eastern Cottontail Sylvilagus floridanus French: Lapin a queue blanche / German: Ostliches Baumwollschwanzkaninchen / Spanish: Conejo de Florida Other common names: Florida Cottontail Taxonomy. Lepus sylvaticus floridanus J. A. Allen, 1890, “Sebastian River, Brevard Co., Fla. [Florida],” USA. Taxonomic status of S. floridanus needs revision. Formerly, S. flondanus included S. robustus and S. cognatus as subspecies, but they are now recognized as distinct species. Subspecies holzneri is provisionally retained as a subspecies of S. floridanus because its relationship to Mexican populations offloridanus has not yet been reported. Genetic similarities suggest that subspecific designations are not warranted for S. floridanusin the north-eastern USA. Genetic studies on widely separated populations of S. floridanus indicate considerably intraspecific genetic variability. As taxonomists are still trying to clarify the species differentiation in Sylvilagus, the subspecific taxonomyis still unresolved; the original descriptions of subspecies are often not very helpful as they are mostly based on a few external characters and on a small numbers of individuals. It has been shown that the variability is clinal in more careful investigations; hence, the ranges in subspecies might be arbitrary and unreasonable. Thirty-one subspecies recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. S.f.floridanusJ.A.Allen,1890—FloridaPeninsulaexceptSEtip(SEUSA). S.f.alacerBangs,1896—CSUSA,inSEKansas,C&SMissouri,EOklahoma,Arkansas,extremeWTennessee,ETexas,mostofMississippi,extremeWCAlabama,andLouisiana.S.fammophilusHowell,1939—EtipoftheFloridaPeninsula(SEUSA).S.faviusOsgood,1910—ConejoI(LosTestigos),offNEVenezuela.S.faztecus].A.Allen,1890—S&EOaxaca,andSWtipofChiapas(SWMexico). S.f.chapmani].A.Allen,1899—W&STexas(SUSA),ECoahuila,N&ENuevoLeon,andmostofTamaulipas(NEMexico). S.f.chiapensisNelson,1904—NEtipofOaxacaandC&SChiapas(Mexico),andWGuatemala. S.f.connectensNelson,1904—STamaulipas,VeracruzexcepttheS,SanLuisPotosi,NEQuerétaro,NEHidalgo,NPuebla,andNOaxaca(EMexico). S.f.continentisOsgood,1912—NWVenezuela. S.f.costaricensisHarris1933—NWCostaRica. S.f.cumanicusThomas,1897—N&CVenezuela. S.f.hesperiusHoffmeister&Lee,1963—NW&CArizona(SWUSA). S.f.hitchensiMearns,1911—SmithandFishermanIsinNorthamptonCounty,EVirginia(EUSA). S.f.holzneriMearns,1896—SEArizona,andSWtipofNewMexico(SWUSA),ESonora,Chihuahua,WDurango,WZacatecas,andESinaloa(NWMexico). S.f.hondurensisGoldman,1932—SEGuatemala,SW&SHonduras,ElSalvador,andNW&CNicaragua. S.fllanensisBlair,1938—SWKansas,SEtipofColorado,WOklahoma,andNCTexas(CUSA). S.f.macrocorpusDiersing&Wilson,1980—Nayarit,SWJalisco,andSWMichoacan(WMexico). S.f.mallurusThomas,1898—EUSA,fromMaineSWtoE&SPennsylvania,andEWestVirginia,WthroughSKentuckytomostofTennessee(excepttheextremeW),andStomostofAlabama(excepttheextremeW)andNFlorida. S.f.margaritaeMiller,1898—MargaritaI,offNVenezuela. S.f.mearnsii].A.Allen,1894—NC&NEUSA,fromMinnesotaEtoMichigan,andStoENebraska,NEKansas,NMissouri,Kentucky,NWtipofVirginia,WWestVirginia,Ohio,N&WPennsylvania,NW&NNewYork,andWVermont,alsoSC&SECanada,inSEOntario,andSEQuebec. S.f.nigronuchalisHartert,1894—ArubaandCuracaoIs(NetherlandsAntilles),offNVenezuela. S.f.orinociThomas,1900—VichadaDepartment(EColombia)andVenezuelaSoftheOrinocoRiver. S.f.orizabaeMerriam,1893—SECoahuila,SWNuevoLeon,SEZacatecas,SanLuisPotosi,Guanajuato,Querétaro,Hidalgo,NWVeracruz,México,andPuebla(CMexico).S.fpaulsoniSchwartz,1956—SEtipoftheFloridaPeninsula(SEUSA). S.f.purgatusThomas,1920—CundinamarcaandTolimaDepartments(CColombia). S.f.restrictusNelson,1907—SWNayarit,C&SJalisco,EColima,andSWMichoacan(Mexico). S.f.russatusJ.A.Allen,1904—SEtipofVeracruz(Mexico). S.f.similisNelson,1907—NCUSA,fromNorthDakota,SWMontana,andNWMinnesotaStoNE&SEWyoming,NEColorado,andNKansas,alsoinSCCanada,SManitoba,andSESaskatchewan(Canada). S.f.subcinctusMiller,1899—Aguascalientes,C&NEJalisco,SWGuanajuato,andNMichoacan(Mexico). S. f. superciliarisJ. A. Allen, 1899 — La Guajira, Magdalena, Atlantico and Bolivar departments (N Colombia). S. [> yucatanicus Miller, 1899 — NW Yucatan Peninsula (SE Mexico). The subspecies mearnsii has been introduced into Vancouver I (SW Canada) and into Washington and Oregon states (NW USA). Also introduced into Italy and the Alps. Descriptive notes. Head-body 400-480 mm, tail 25-61 mm, ear 60-70 mm, hindfoot 90-105 mm; weight 0.8-1.5 kg. The Eastern Cottontail is large, with long and dense fur. Dorsal pelage is brownish to grayish. Ventral fur and underside oftail are white. South American subspecies of the Eastern Cottontail differ in color of their nuchal patches, varying from yellowish brown to black. Geographical variation is high due to wide distribution of Eastern Cottontails, and characteristics that are diagnostic vary according to locality. In local areas,it is generally easy to distinguish the Eastern Cottontail from other sympatric species of Sylvilagus. The only exception is that where the Eastern Cottontail and the New England Cottontail (S. transitionalis) are sympatric along the Appalachians and in New England, USA, they cannot be distinguished based on pelage color; cranial characteristics are needed to identify these two species. Female Eastern Cottontails are c.1% larger than males. Adults undergo two molts per year: spring molt takes place in March—-August, and fall molt starts in late September and ends in early November. Habitat. Great variety of habitats seasonally and latitudinally across an extensive distribution; generally occurring in farmlands, grasslands,fields, areas of low dense brush, and hedgerows. South American subspecies inhabit arid and semiarid regions mostly in dry upland habitats. Habitat of the Eastern Cottontail has been improved by interspersion of old fields and briar thickets, creation of edge, establishment of open feeding areas, and breaking up large continuous areas of monotypic habitat. Forms used during inactivity are chosen to provide cover and shelter and consist of brush piles and herbaceous and shrubby vegetation. Dens can be used to escape. Food and Feeding. Diet of the Eastern Cottontail includes a wide variety of plant species. Herbaceous plants are eaten during growing seasons, and woody plants are eaten during dormant seasons. Herbaceous plants might also be eaten throughout the year except when covered by snow. Two pronounced feeding periods have been reported: 3—4 h after sunrise and from sunset to one hour after sunset. Feeding habits of Eastern Cottontails vary seasonally and with successional changes of plant communities. Breeding. Timing of reproduction of Eastern Cottontails depends on latitude, elevation, and weather and varies among subspecies and populations and within the same population from year to year. Diet and rainfall might be important factors particularly in arid regions. Reproductive season begins later at higher elevations and northern latitudes; populations may breed throughout the year or only for ¢.6 months. Synchronized breeding behavior of Eastern Cottontail, even throughout the breeding season, has been recorded, and the synchronized initial pre-estrus stage for all populations over a wide geographical area is probably regulated by photoperiod. Reproductive interactions between males and females consist of a sequence of patterns that precede and culminate in copulation. This includes the male and female turning in a threat posture (face off), the male rushing the female, the female jumping over the male, and finally again the face off. When the female retreats from the male after a face off, the male chases the female before copulation takes place. Gestation typically lasts 28— 29 days but can be 25-35 days. Numbers oflitters per year are 3-7. Sizesoffirst litters of the year are 3-5 young and influenced by age or previous reproductive experience of females. Mean littersizes are 3-1-5-6 in the USA but usually only two young and rarely 1-3 young in South America. Mean annuallitter sizes are correlated with latitude and other factors such as conception dates, body weight, elevation, and, on one occasion, longitude. Annual numbers of young per female are 6-35. Young are born in a nest with a slanting hole into the ground. Nest’s measurements vary: lengths of 13-18 cm, widths of 10-13 cm, and depths of 9-12 cm. There is no relationship between nest size and litter size. Nests have outer linings of grass and herbaceous stems or leaves and inner layers of mothers’ fur. At birth, young Eastern Cottontails have fine hair, have tightly closed eyes, and are able to crawl into their nests. Eyes open at 4-8 days of age, and they leave nests at 12-16 days of age. Onset of sexual maturity is related to the first adult molt. Twenty-seven to 52% ofjuveniles breed during theirfirst year, but productivity is much lower than that of older individuals. Activity patterns. The Eastern Cottontail is most active at dawn and dusk, with increased activity on moonlit nights. Activity was greatest during summer when nights were shortest and when air temperature ranged from —18°C to 1°C. Rain apparently reduced activity. Movements, Home range and Social organization. Mean annual home ranges of adult male and female Eastern Cottontails are 0-95-3 ha. Maximum home range size occurs during an individual’s first winter. Home range size and movements of adults vary by season, sex, and age. Home range size of males increased with the onset of sexual activity. Home range size of males during the reproductive season is influenced by habitat quality and sexual behavior. Home ranges indiscriminately overlap after breeding activity ends. The Eastern Cottontail does not maintain territories. Adult social interactions include those related to reproduction and social hierarchies. Eastern Cottontails have a male dominance hierarchy that controls social structure of populations. Dominant males copulate with most females. Male hierarchies prevent reproductive fighting. Dominance is indicated by d

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