Featured Article Summary #219

The European rabbit, also called the coney, is native to the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern France. It has been introduced to many places worldwide, where wild and domestic rabbits can look very different in size, shape, and color. They mainly live in grassland areas and eat grasses and leaves, but may also eat berries, tree bark, and crops. European rabbits are hunted by many predators and mainly survive by quickly running and hiding in their burrow networks, called warrens, where they spend most of their time. They live in social groups led by territorial females, and their young are born blind and need care until they leave the nest. The species has been hunted and raised for food for thousands of years, and while it has sometimes harmed ecosystems as an invasive species, it is also declining in its native range due to hunting, habitat loss, and diseases. Carl Linnaeus originally classified the European rabbit in 1758 under the genus Lepus, but in 1874 Wilhelm Lilljeborg placed it in the new genus Oryctolagus, a name linked to burrowing. The species name cuniculus comes from Low Latin, and the rabbit is distinguished from true hares by traits such as its burrowing behavior, helpless altricial young, and a narrow nasal opening. Although it looks similar to North American cottontails, studies show this similarity comes from convergent evolution; its closest relatives are the riverine rabbit, hispid hare, and Amami rabbit. Genetic research also finds large differences (up to 40% in a key immune-related gene) between domesticated and feral populations, suggesting high genetic diversity over long evolutionary periods. There are two recognized subspecies of the European rabbit: O. c. cuniculus (the common rabbit) and O. c. algirus (the Iberian rabbit). The common rabbit is native to southern France and north-east Spain, while the Iberian rabbit lives in the south-west of the Iberian Peninsula. They have also been introduced elsewhere, but only the common rabbit is widespread on many continents and islands, whereas the Iberian rabbit is only known as non-native on a few islands. Although the subspecies are sometimes discussed as separate species, the number of named subspecies has changed over time as scientists revised classifications based on size, fur colour, and later genetics. Genetic research has supported only two living subspecies (O. c. cuniculus and O. c. algirus), which likely split around the Quaternary glaciation about 2 million years ago. Because conservation has often treated them as the same for translocation and management, the Iberian rabbit has declined and more recent efforts focus on recognizing them as different lineages or species. The oldest fossils of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) are about 0.6 million years old and come from southern Spain. Earlier fossils of the genus Oryctolagus, including species thought to be ancestors, date back to around 6 million years ago, and O. cuniculus later became the only surviving species in its genus, spreading from the Iberian Peninsula into parts of the Mediterranean and northern Europe. During the Last Glacial Maximum, cold, dry conditions and permafrost limited rabbits mainly to the Iberian Peninsula and southern France, after which they expanded into central Spain as glaciers retreated in the Early Holocene. Adult European rabbits are usually 36–38 cm long and weigh about 1.5–3 kg, with ears about 7–8 cm long and a tail around 6.5–7 cm. Their size changes with food and habitat quality, and they can vary a lot in fur colour and pattern, from white or sandy to dark grey or black, with moulting happening once each year. Their light, fragile skeleton and strong, long hind legs are built for fast escape, and poor muscle use can lead to weak, thinning bones.