FAMILY OF HARES AND RABBITS 



283 



LYING LOW 



A familiar attitude of the Jack " Rabbit, " when trying to 

 escape observation 



The subspecies known as the Sinaloa Jack 

 " Rabbit " is even handsomer than Allen's Jack 

 " Rabbit," the sides of the head and the back 

 being of a much richer and brighter cream-buff 

 or pinkish-buff; the tail has less black on the 

 upper part ; and the skull is larger than that of 

 any other American Hare. It ranges along the 

 Pacific Coast from Sonora to northern Tepic, 

 the most intensely colored specimens coming 

 from Alamos, southern Sonora. 



The Gaillard Jack " Rabbit " is one of the 

 rarest. In size and general appearance it re- 

 sembles the type species. It is found over a 

 comparatively limited area, occurring mainly 

 along the eastern basal slopes of the Sierra 

 Madre in Chihuahua, extending thence over the 

 immediately adjacent part of the grassy plains 

 and westward into the open pine forest of the 

 Sierra Madre. In this forest it is rare wp to 

 7000 feet, and the few found there were prob- 

 ably merely stray summer residents. 



BLACK-TAILED JACK " RABBIT " 

 Lepus californicus Gray 



General Description. — A large Hare with ears a 

 trifle smaller than the White-sided Hare. Head large ; 

 body heavy : legs very long ; pelage long and thick. A 

 desert animal. 



Dental Formula. — Same as White-sided Hare. 



Pelage. — Adults: Sexes identical. Seasonal varia- 

 ation not marked. Above, yellowish-brown mixed with 

 black ; sides, rump and thighs tinged with cinnamon ; 

 tail above black, the black extending onto rump ; 

 beneath pale buff. 



Measurements. — Total length, 28 inches ; tail verte- 

 brae, 2.6 inches. 



Range. — The California deserts. 



Food. — Desert vegetation. 



Remarks. — Classed with the group typified by Allen's 

 Jack " Rabbit," which are characterized both by the 

 white side and black tail. ."MI are nearly related, but 

 for ease of reference the other members of the Black- 

 tailed group are here considered together. 



Related Species 



California Black-tailed Jack "Rabbit." — Lepus 

 californicus caUfitrnicus Gray. Typical animal de- 

 .scribed above. Desert plains of California. 



Columbia Black-tailed Jack " Rabbit." — Lepus cali- 

 foniicus Zi.'alIazi'aUa (Merriam). .-Xbove gray mixed 

 with black ; sides clearer gray ; tail above black. North- 

 eastern California, northwestern Nevada, and north 

 through eastern Oregon and Washington. 



Great Plains Black-tailed Jack " Rabbit." — Lepus 

 californicus mclanotis (Mearns). General color above, 

 bright fulvous with no gray or ashy ; body with blotch- 

 ings of black; ears mixed brown and black anteriorly: 

 tail above black. Great Plains from Texas and New 

 Mexico north to Dakota and Nebraska west to the 

 Rockies. 



Texas Black-tailed Jack " Rabbit."— Lepus cali- 

 fornicus mcrriami (Mearns). Ears quite large; color 

 above, grayish mixed with black; underpart white; nape 

 of neck black; tail above black. Southern Texas. 



In several respects this is the most important 

 group of all our Hares. The territory occupied 

 by its members is simply enormous ; the losses 

 resulting from its depredations on crops, garden 

 truck, and trees and shrubs aggregate thousands 

 of dollars annually, and constitute one of the 

 most serious among the many problems which 

 the American farmer has to grapple with ; and 



the large traffic in the animal, both as a source 

 of food and for its fur, gives it considerable 

 economic prominence. 



Our Black-tailed Jack is an ubiquitous animal. 

 From southeastern Washington down to the 

 Valley of Mexico, from Kansas and Texas to 

 the Pacific Coast, and even on the remote islands 

 of Lower California, he is to be found in pos- 



