Anatomy of thd Rabbit. 



ZOOLOGICAL POSITION. 



It will be evident from the foregoing statement that every specialized 

 animal possesses in its organization a vast-assemblage of features which, 

 if referred to their proper categories, are found to represent many grades 

 of morphological value. In so far as the adult structure of a particular 

 form is concerned, it is possible, to consider them anatomically without 

 discrimination; but, on the other hand, if they are to be explained, it is 

 necessary to proceed on a basis of function, embryonic development, or 

 evolution. The study of an animal as a type or representative of a group, 

 however, concerns only in a general w^ay the features common to its 

 various members, since the majority of features present in any animal 

 are of minor importance, and as such are significant chiefly as indicating 

 the developments which may take place inside it. The question of what 

 an animal is actually representative is a matter of comparison with other 

 forms, in other words, of its zoological position. This is expressed 

 through the medium of classification, the latter being arranged to indicate, 

 so far as is possible, the relationships of organisms to one another. In 

 this connection the following statement of the zoological position of the 

 rabbit may be found useful ; and it may also be considered as illustrating, 

 through the comparison of this animal with allied forms, some of the 

 more general characters of animals as outlined above. 



The domestic rabbit is represented by several races, of which the 

 common variously-colored forms, long-haired Angoras, Lop-Ear 

 Rabbits, and Belgian " Hares" are more familiar. They are all descen- 

 dents of the wild rabbit {Orydolag-us cuniculus, Lepus cuniculus) of 

 Europe. The latter is thought to have belonged originally to the countries 

 bordering the western portion of the Mediterranean, but its distribution 

 has been greatly extended northward and to other continents through 

 human agency. 



The family Leporidae contains a large number of closely related 

 species formerly included in the single genus Lepus. They are variously 

 known as hares and rabbits, but the latter designation is considered to 

 apply more exactly to the European rabbit and its domesticated races, 

 the others, with one or two exceptions, being more properly described as 

 hares. The more familiar species include the North American Cotton- 

 Tail {Syhilagus fiondanus, Lepus sylvaticus), and the Prairie Hare or 

 Jack-Rabbit {Lepus campesiris) ; the European Common Rabbit 

 (OrycfolagiAs cumculus), and Hare {Lepus europceus). The two European 

 species differ in several well marked features, which form the basis of the 

 accepted distinctions between hares and rabbits. The rabbit is dis- 

 tinguished by its shorter ears and less elongated hind limbs; also by its 

 burrowing habits, and by the circumstance that the young are born in 

 a blind and naked condition. The hare is more nearly a running or 

 cursorial type, and is distinguished by its longer ears — which, moreover, 

 are tipped with black — longer hind limbs and prominent eyes. Unlike 

 the rabbit it does not burrow, but inhabits only an open " form," and the 

 young when born are clothed with hair and able to see. 



