Amami rabbit
Amami rabbit[1] | |
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Taxidermy specimen at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo, Japan. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Lagomorpha |
Family: | Leporidae |
Genus: | Pentalagus Lyon, 1904 |
Species: | P. furnessi
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Binomial name | |
Pentalagus furnessi (Stone, 1900)
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Amami rabbit range |
The Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi;
Evolution
Pentalagus is thought to be a descendant of Pliopentalagus, known from the Pliocene of China and Eastern to Central Europe.[4]
Biology
Diet
The Amami rabbit feeds on over 29 species of plants, which incorporates 17 species of shrubs and 12 species of herbaceous plants, consuming mostly the sprouts, young shoots and acorns.[5] It also eats nuts and cambium of a wide variety of plant species.[6] It is observed that the Amami rabbit also feeds on the bark of stems and twigs of shrub plants.[6] During summer, the Amami rabbit primarily feeds on Japanese pampas grass, and during winter, they primarily eat the acorns of the pasania tree.[7] The Amami rabbit also eats the fruits of Balanophora yuwanensis, a parasitic flowering plant, for which they are the main distributors of seed.[8]
Morphology
The Amami rabbit has short feet and hind legs, a somewhat bulky body, and rather large and curved claws used for digging and sometimes climbing.[9] Its ears are significantly smaller compared to those of other hares or rabbits.[10] The pelage is thick, wooly and dark, brown on top and becomes more reddish-brown on the sides.[11] It has heavy, long and very strong claws, being nearly straight on the forefeet and curved on the hindfeet [11] The eyes are also small compared to more common rabbits and hares. The average weight is 2.5–2.8 kg.[12]
Distribution and habitat
The ideal habitat for these rabbits is in an area between mature and young forests.[13] They use the dense mature forests as protection and for the presence of pampas grass, in the summer, and acorns, in the winter, for their diets.[14] They also use the high density of perennial grasses and herbaceous ground cover in the young forests for their diets during different times of the year.[2][15] Therefore, the best habitat for them to live in is where they have easy access to both young and mature forests with no obstructions between the two forest types.[16]
Using fecal pellet counts and resident surveys, the number of rabbits is estimated at 2000–4800 left on Amami Island and 120–300 left on Tokuno Island.[13]
Behavior
This species is a
Endangered species
Threats
Before 1921, hunting and trapping were another cause of decline in population numbers. In 1921, Japan declared the Amami rabbit a "natural monument" which prevented it from being hunted.[11] Then in 1963, it was changed to a "special natural monument" which prevented it from being trapped as well.[16]
Habitat destruction, such as forest clearing for commercial logging, agriculture space, and residential areas, is the most detrimental activity on the distribution of these rabbits.[19] Since they prefer a habitat of both mature and young forests, they do not thrive in only mature forests untouched by destruction, yet they do not thrive in newly growing forests alone, either.[16] There are plans to remove the current habitat for these rabbits for the construction of golf courses and resorts, which is allowed because it will not directly be killing the rabbit, just changing the environment where it dwells, which is legal even under the protection of the special natural monument status.[20]
The Amami rabbit also faces huge threats from the invasive predators, being a major cause for the decline in population size.[2] On the island of Amami, the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) was released to control the population of a local venomous snake, and its numbers have increased dramatically.[21] This mongoose, along with feral cats and dogs, are outpreying the Amami rabbit.[16] Feral cats and small Indian Mongooses proved to be a threat to not only Amami rabbits but several other endangered endemic species in the area such the Amami jay.[22]
Conservation
In July 2008, the Amami Rangers for
Suggested conservation work for the future includes habitat restoration and predator population control, as a healthy balance of mature and young forests still exists on the southern end of Amami. Restricting logging would also help to keep more forest available for the rabbits to live in by leaving more forest standing, as well as disturbing the surrounding environment more.[9] An end to the building of forest roads used for logging and travel would further protect the Amami rabbit, as they cause population and habitat fragmentation, destroys their prime habitat and allows predators easier access to the middle of forests where a majority of the rabbit population exists.[2] Controlling the populations of mongooses, feral dogs, and feral cats is another approach that could help bolster the rabbit population.[9] Eradication of the mongooses and feral cats and dogs is needed, as well as better control of pets by local island residents.[16]
The Lagomorph Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources proposed a plan of conservation in 1990.[9] In Amami-Oshima Island, the Amami Wildlife Conservation Center of the Ministry of the Environment was established in 1999.[11] It restarted a mongoose eradication program in 2005 and designated the Amami rabbit as endangered in 2004 for Japan.[12]
References
- OCLC 62265494.
- ^ doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T16559A45180151.en. Retrieved 11 November 2021.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - S2CID 19327437.
- ISBN 978-3-540-72445-2, retrieved 7 September 2020
- ISBN 9784879746269.
- ^ ISBN 9783540724469.
- ISBN 9781854354891.
- NY Times.
- ^ S2CID 198130448.
- ISBN 9781472909909.
- ^ ISBN 9783540724469.
- ^ doi:10.1644/782.1.
- ^ a b "Pentalagus furnessi (Amami rabbit)". Animal Diversity Web. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ISBN 9780801857898.
- PMID 24363899.
- ^ .
- ^ ISBN 9781105564963.
- ^ redOrbit. "Amami Rabbit - Redorbit". Redorbit. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ "Rabbits: Habits, Diet & Other Facts". Live Science. Archived from the original on 20 May 2017. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- .
- S2CID 86338152.
- S2CID 84000778.
- ^ Secretariat, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources; Parks, International Commission on National (1975). World directory of national parks and other protected areas. IUCN.