LEPORID^l. 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 5 on each side MUKID^E, Ibo. 



cc. Tibia and fibula separate. 



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



side; body robust CASTORIDVE, ISti. 



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



SCIUKID-di, 187. 



FAMILY CLXXXI. LEPORID^J (THE HARES.) 



Incisors |, 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. 17. 

 T. 1. Ear 2. N. C. to S. 111. and 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. mallurus. L. 22. T. 2. Ear 3. S. 111. to La. and 

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



aa 

 b 



Postorbital processes united with the skull. 



>. Fur never white, hind feet not longer than head. 



1032. L. nuttalli mallurus Thomas. COTTON-TAIL. GRAY 

 RABBIT. Tail cottony-white ; ears two-thirds length oi head. Gray 

 above, varied with black, and more or less tinged with yellowish 

 brown; below white. L. 18. T. 2. Ear 2^. Eastern U. S., S. 

 to La. from Ontario; very abundant. The common Eastern Cot- 

 ton-tail is subspec. mallurus, the typical nuttalli Bachman being the 

 sage rabbit of the Great Basin, paler in color. A closely related 

 form is subspec. transitionalis Bangs, N. E. to Penn., which may 

 include mallurus. Subspec. mearnsi Allen is described from Minn. 

 {juaAXos, wool ; ovpa, tail.) 



bb. Fur becoming more or less white in winter; hind feet longer than head. 



1033. L. americanus Erxleben. WHITE RABBIT. VARYING 



