LEPUS CUNICULUS. LAGOMYS. 129 



Lepus cuniciilus. 



Lepus cunieulus, Desm. Mamm. Sp. 560 ; Bell, Brit. Quad. 

 The Babbit. 



Description. — Fur of a greyish-brown colour; neck red- 

 dish ; throat and belly -white ; ears about as long as the 

 head, brownish grey throughout their -whole length ; tail 

 brown above, white beneath. The general form is fuller 

 and rounder than that of the Hare, and the flanks are less 

 contracted ; the head, ears, and hind-legs much shorter. 



Length of head and body, 16 inches 6 lines ; head, 3 

 inches 6 lines ; ears, 3 inches 8 lines ; tail, 3 inches 2 lines. 



Breeds several times in the year, producing seven or 

 eight at a Utter ; burrows in the ground. Every attempt 

 to produce a breed between the Eabbit and Hare has 

 hitherto failed. 



Is very numerous in almost every part of the British 

 Islands ; found in some parts of Germany ; common in 

 France, but is nowhere wild in Switzerland (Schinz). In 

 Spain it is especially abundant ; is only met with in some 

 localities in Italy ; is not found wild in Silesia, Gallicia, or 

 the Bukovina ; nor does Pallas include it among Eussian 

 animals. It occurs in North Africa. 



Genus LAGOMYS. 



Teeth. — Incisors, | ; molars, |^| ; ears short, and 

 rounded; hind-legs short; the upper incisors consist of 

 two large teeth in front, and two much smaller imme- 

 diately behind these, as in the Hares ; there is one molar 

 less in the upper jaw than in that genus. 



g 5 



