LEPORID.E. CLXXXI. 317 



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 | on each side. . . . GEOMYID^E, 184. 



ee. Limbs moderate, not as above; cheek-pouches usually absent; 

 molars to $ on each side ..... . . MUIUD^E, 185. 



cc. Tibia and fibula separate. 



f. Tail broad, flat, and scaly; feet webbed; molars I on each 

 side ; body robust ......... CASTORIDJE, 18ti- 



ff. Tail with fur ; feet not webbed; molars | or I on each side. 



187. 



FAMILY CLXXXI. LEPORID^ (THE HARES.) 



Incisors f , the extra pair in upper jaw small, and placed behind 

 the principal pair, which are grooved in front ; molars |:| ; the 

 teeth 28 in all ; tail short, bushy, recurved ; eyes 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 Linnaeus. (Lat., a hare.) 



a. Postorbital processes united with the skull ; hind feet short ; fur never 

 white. 



1030. L. palustris Bachman. MARSH HARE. Width of skull 

 half its length. Yellowish brown; tail grayish, not cottony. L. 1 7. 

 T. 1. Ear 2. N. C. to S. 111. and S., in swamps. 



1031. L. aquations 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. 111. to La. and 

 S. W., in canebrakes and about lowland streams. 



aa. Postorbital processes united with the skull. 

 b. Fur never white ; hind feet not longer than head. 



1032. L. sylvaticua Bachman. GRAY RABBIT. 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 2. 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. WHITE RABBIT. 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. 2J. 

 Ear 3. Wooded districts. New England to Minn., and S. to Va. , 

 along the Alleghanies. The Eastern form var. virginianus Harlan, 



