LEPORIDA, — 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; budy thick-set 
and heavy; molars 4 on each side. - + . GEomyiDé, 184, 
ee. Limbs moderate, not as above; cheek-pouches usually absent; 
molars §to 4oneach side, . . . . « + « MUKID&, 185. 
ec. Tibia and fibula separate. 
J. Tail broad, flat, and scaly; feet webbed; molars 4 on each 
side; body robust. . . . . . . . » CASTORIDA#, 186. 
Jf. Tail with fur; feet not webbed; molars 4 or § on each side. 
Sciunipa, 187. 
Famity CLXXXI. LEPORIDA( (Tue Harss.) 
Incisors 4, 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 Linneus. (Lat., a hare.) 
a. Postorbital processes united with the skull; hind feet short; fur never 
white. 
1030. L. palustris Bachman. Marsa Hare. Width of skull 
half its length. Yellowish brown; tail grayish, not cottony. L. 17. 
T.1. Ear 2}. N.C. toS. Ill 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 LZ. mallurus. 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. 
bd. Fur never white, hind feet not longer than head. 
1032. L. nuttalli mallurus Thomas. CorTon-Trair. Gray 
Rassit. 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}. Eastern U. S., 8. 
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. 
(paddéds, wool ; ovpa, tail.) 
bb. Fur becoming more or less white in winter; hind feet longer than head. 
1033. Lb. americanus Erxleben. Waite Rassit. VARYING 
