Royal Irish Academy, 71 



This paper commenced with a review of what has been written on 

 the subject of the Irish hare, from the time it was brought under the 

 notice of English zoologists in 1833, until the present period. Mr. 

 Thompson stated, contrary to what has been advanced, that the hare 

 of England and Scotland, and that of Ireland, have long been known 

 to differ ; and that in 1807 the difference in the fur of the two spe- 

 cies was alluded to as a matter of common notoriety, in the MS. of 

 the late John Templeton, Esq. He further stated, that on account 

 of their differing from the Irish species, a number of hares were, up- 

 wards of thirty years ago, brought from England and turned out on 

 the largest of the Copeland Islands, off the county of Down ; and that 

 many years since, the Irish hare was, for a similar reason, introduced 

 to the island of Islay, off the coast of Scotland. 



The Lepus Hibernicus is considered distinct from all described spe- 

 cies. It exhibits, in several respects, characters intermediate be- 

 tween the British hares, L. timidus and L. variabilis ; but considered 

 generally, more nearly approximates to the former animal. 



The chief result of detailed measurements is shown in the supe- 

 rior length of the ears and tail of L. timidus, compared with those of 

 L. Hibernicus. The former, or common hare, displays greater diver- 

 sity of colour on the head, ears, and body, than the Irish species, 

 which again exhibits greater variety in that of the legs. The most 

 obvious difference in colour (and which has been unnoticed by 

 authors,) is in the tail, the upper surface of which is black in the 

 L. timidus, and white, tinged with greyish towards the base, in the 

 Irish species. On looking to their osteology, some slight differences 

 are observable in the head ; the comparatively more horizontal direc- 

 tion of the lumbar vertebra in the Irish hare is conspicuous, and like- 

 wise the relative shortness of its tail, which, as first recorded by Mr. 

 Eyton, contains three vertebrae less than that of the English species, 

 thirteen only being possessed by the former, and sixteen by the lat- 

 ter animal. 



The occasional whiteness of fur in the Irish hare is believed by the 

 author to be a consequence of age, and not regulated by the law that 

 is understood to affect the Alpine hare, which is considered to change 

 its dark summer fur to white at the commencement of every winter. 

 The oeconomy and habits of the Irish hare, which generally corre- 

 spond with those of the common species, are, together with a com- 

 parative description of form, colour, &c, very fully detailed in this 

 paper. 



