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Since speed and agility are a rabbit's main defenses against predators, rabbits have large hind leg bones and well-developed musculature. Though plantigrade at rest, rabbits are on their toes while running, assuming a more digitigrade posture. [51] Rabbits use their strong claws for digging and (along with their teeth) for defense. [52]
Over the course of their evolution, this group has become increasingly adapted to lives of fast running and leaping. For example, Palaeolagus, an extinct rabbit from the Oligocene of North America, had shorter hind legs than modern forms (indicating it ran rather than hopped) though it was in most other respects quite rabbit-like. [11]
Rabbits and hares move by jumping, pushing off with their strong hind legs and using their forelimbs to soften the impact on landing. Pikas lack certain skeletal modifications present in leporids, such as a highly arched skull, an upright posture of the head, strong hind limbs and pelvic girdle, and long limbs. [19]
Hares are generally larger than rabbits, with longer ears, and have black markings on their fur. Hares, like all leporids, have jointed, or kinetic, skulls, unique among mammals. They have 48 chromosomes, [10] while rabbits have 44. [11] Hares have not been domesticated, while some rabbits are raised for food and kept as pets.
In contrast to rodents (squirrels, etc.), which generally sit on their hind legs and hold food with their front paws while feeding, cottontail rabbits eat while on all fours. Cottontail rabbits typically only use their nose to move and adjust the position of the food that it places directly in front of its front paws on the ground.
A French Lop rabbit The French Lop is a breed of domestic rabbit developed in France in the 19th century from the selective breeding of English Lop and Flemish Giant stock. [ 1 ] The French Lop resembles the English Lop, but the French Lop is heavier in stature and does not have the exaggerated ear length of the English Lop.
The mountain cottontail is a small rabbit but its size is relatively large for the genus. Hind legs are long; the feet are densely covered with long hair. Ears are relatively short and rounded at the tips; the inner surfaces are noticeably haired. [2]
The following is a list of selected animals in order of increasing number of legs, from 0 legs to 653 pairs of legs, the maximum recorded in the animal kingdom. [1] Each entry provides the relevant taxa up to the rank of phylum. Each entry also provides the common name of the animal.