LEPORIDA, — CLXXXI. oli 
dd. Tail and hind-legs not excessively elongated. 
e. Limbs very short, subequal, adapted for digging; fore-claws 
much enlarged; large, external cheek-pouches; body thick-set 
and heavy; molars 4 on each side. - - » GEOMYIDs, 184. 
ee. Limbs moderate, not as above; cheek-pouches usually absent; 
molars #to gon each side. . . . . « « « MUKIDA, 185. 
ce. Tibia and fibula separate. 
J. Tail broad, flat, and scaly; feet webbed; molars 4 on each 
side; body robust. . - + « « CASTORID, 186. 
Jf. Tail with fur; feet not sohbet: molars 4 or 2 on each side. 
SCIURID, 187. 
Famity CLXXXI. LHPORIDAD (Tue Hares.) 
Incisors 4, the extra pair in upper jaw small, and placed behind 
the principal pair, which are grooved in front; molars 8%; the 
teeth 28 in all; tail short, bushy, recurved ; as large; ears long; 
soles furred. A single genus widely distributed, with about 30 
species, among them the familiar Rabbit (Lepus cuniculus L.) of 
Europe, and several native species commonly called rabbits, but 
more properly hares. 
537. LEPUS Linneus. (Lat., a hare.) 
a. Postorbital processes united with the skull; hind feet short; fur never 
white. 
1030. L. palustris Bachman. MaArso Hare. Width of skull 
half its length. Yellowish brown; tail grayish, not cottony. L. 17. 
Pet... Hae ah. N.C) to 5. Ae S., in swamps. 
1031. L. aquaticus Bachman. WaTER Hare. Width of skull 
not half its length. Yellowish brown, white below; tail white 
below, as in L. sylvaticus. L.22. T.2. Ear 3. S. Ill. to La. and 
S. W., in canebrakes and about lowland streams. 
aa. Postorbital processes united with the skull. 
6. Fur never white, hind feet not longer than head. 
1032. L. sylvaticus Bachman. Gray Rassit. COTTON-TAIL. 
Tail cottony-white ; ears two-thirds length of head. Gray above, 
varied with black, and more or less tinged with yellowish brown ; 
below white. L. 18 T. 2. Ear 23. U.S., rather S., N. to 
Mass.; very abundant. 
bb. Fur becoming more or less white in winter; hind feet longer than head. 
1033. L. americanus Erxleben. WuiIte Rappit. NORTHERN 
Hare. Ears about as long as head; fur, in summer, cinnamon 
brown, in winter, becoming white at the surface, plumbeous at 
base, with a median band of reddish brown. L. 20. T. 2H, 
Ear 3. Wooded districts, New England to Minn., and S. to Va., 
along the Alleghanies. ‘The Eastern form var. virginianus Harlan, 
