COMMON HARE. 



RODENTIA . 



331 



LEPORIDJ-:. 



Genus, Lepus (Linnaius). 



Generic Character. — Hind-legs and ears long; tail short, turned up. 

 Grinding-teeth § : §, with flat crowns, the folds of enamel transverse ; incisors 

 grooved, four in upper jaw, two in front, and two small immediately behind 

 them. 



COMMON HARE. 



Lepus timidus. (Linn.) 



Specific Character. — Upper parts and flanks tawny grey, more or less mixed 

 with reddish, purer grey in winter; belly white; tail nearly as long as the 

 head, black above, white beneath; ears longer than the head, Idack at the 

 tips. First upper giinder with a single internal angle. 



Lepus timidus, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. I. 77. 

 ,, europceus, Pallas, Nov. Spec. Glir. 30. 



The genus to which this animal belongs is one of the 

 most natural in the whole of the llodentia. It is charac- 

 terized by numerous striking and well-marked ])eculiar- 

 ities. Tlie incisive teeth are numerically diU'ereiit from 

 those of all the rest of the order; in addition to the two 

 long, curved, chisel-shaped teeth above and below, there 

 are added in the upper jaw two smaller ones, placed im- 



