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RABBIT
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RABBIT , the See also:modern -lame of the well-known rodent, formerly called (as it still is in See also:English legal phraseology) CoNY,' a member of the See also:family Leporidae (see See also:RODENTIA). Till recently the rabbit has generally been known scientifically as Lepus cuniculus, but it is now frequently regarded, at least by systematic naturalists, as the representative of a genus by itself, under the The Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). name of Oryctolagus cuniculus. Some zoologists, indeed, include in the same genus the See also:South See also:African thick-tailed See also:hare, but by others this is separated as Pronolagus crassicaudatus. From the hare the See also:wild rabbit is distinguished externally by its smaller See also:size, shorter ears and feet, the See also:absence or reduction of the See also:black patch at the tip of the ears, and its greyer See also:colour. The See also:skull is 1 There are no native names either in See also:Teutonic or See also:Celtic See also:languages; such words as See also:German Kaninchen or English cony are from the Latin cuniculus, while the Irish, Welsh and Gaelic are adaptations from English. " Rabbit," which is now the See also:common name in English, was for See also:long confined to the See also:young of the cony, and so the Promptorium Parvulorum, c. 1440, " Rabet, See also:yonge conye, cunicellus." The ultimate source of " rabbit " is itself unknown. The New English See also:Dictionary takes it to be of See also:northern See also:French origin. There is a Walloon robett. See also:Skeat suggests a possible connexion with See also:Spanish rabo, tail, rabear, to wag the See also:hind-quarters. The See also:familiar name for toasted See also:cheese, " Welsh rabbit," is merely a joke, and the alteration to " Welsh rare-See also:bit " is due to a failure to see the joke, such as it is. See also:Parallels may be found in " See also:Prairie See also:oyster," the yolk of an See also:egg with See also:vinegar, See also:pepper, &c. added; or " Scotch See also:woodcock," a savoury of buttered eggs on See also:anchovy See also:toast. very similar to that of the hare, but is smaller and lighter, with a slenderer muzzle and a longer and narrower See also:palate. Besides these characters, the rabbit is separated from the hare by the fact that it brings forth its young naked, See also:blind, and help-less; to compensate for this, it digs a deep burrow in the See also:earth in which they are See also:born and reared, while the young of the hare are born fully clothed with See also:fur, and able to take care of them-selves, in the shallow depression or " See also:form " in which they are produced. The See also:weight of the rabbit is from 21 to 3 lb, although wild individuals have been recorded up to more than 5 lb. Its 'See also:general habits are too well known to need detailed description. It breeds from four to eight times a See also:year, bringing forth each See also:time from three to eight young; its See also:period of gestation is about See also:thirty days, and it is able to See also:bear when six months old. It attains to an See also:age of about seven or eight years. The rabbit is believed to be a native of the western See also:half of the Mediterranean See also:basin, and still abounds in See also:Spain, See also:Sardinia, See also:southern See also:Italy, See also:Sicily, See also:Greece, See also:Tunis and See also:Algeria; and many of the islands adjoining these countries are overrun with these rodents. Thence it has spread, partly by See also:man's agency, See also:north-wards throughout temperate western See also:Europe, increasing rapidly wherever it gains a footing; and this See also:extension is still going on, as is shown by the See also:case of See also:Scotland, where See also:early in the 19th See also:century rabbits were little known, while they are now found in all suitable localities up to the extreme north. It has also gained admittance into See also:Ireland, and now abounds there as much as in See also:England. Out of Europe the same extension of range has been going on. In New See also:Zealand and See also:Australia rabbits, introduced either for profit or See also:sport, have increased to such an extent as to form one of the most serious pests that the farmers have to contend against, as the See also:climate and See also:soil suit them perfectly and their natural enemies are too few and too lowly organized to keep them within reasonable See also:bounds. In North See also:America about thirty See also:species and twice as many geographic races (subspecies) are known, and the occurrence of several distinct fossil forms shows that the genus has long been established. The See also:chief variety is the common See also:grey or cottontail (Lepus floridanus). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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