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The European rabbit is the only rabbit species that has been domesticated and all 305 global rabbit breeds— from Netherland Dwarf to Flemish Giant— are descendants of the European rabbit. Rabbits are an example of an animal that can be treated as a food, a pet, or a pest by different members of the same culture.
Oryctolagus (/ ˌ ɔː r ɪ k ˈ t ɑː l ə ɡ ə s /) is a genus of lagomorph that today contains the European rabbit and its descendant, the domestic rabbit, as well as several fossil species. The generic name derives from Ancient Greek: ὀρυκτός (oryktos, “dug up”) and λαγώς (lagōs, “hare”). [1]
Different breeds of rabbit at an exhibition in the Netherlands, 1952. As of 2017, there were at least 305 breeds of the domestic rabbit in 70 countries around the world raised for in the agricultural practice of breeding and raising domestic rabbits as livestock for their value in meat, fur, wool, education, scientific research, entertainment and companionship in cuniculture. [1]
The domestic rabbit subspecies of the European rabbit has been domesticated. The 64 extant species of Leporidae are contained within 11 genera . One genus, Lepus , contains 32 species that are collectively referred to as hares; the other eight genera are generally referred to as rabbits, with the majority – 19 species – in Sylvilagus , or ...
The domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus) is the domesticated form of the European rabbit, a member of the lagomorph order. A male rabbit is known as a buck, a female as a doe, and a young rabbit as a kit. There are hundreds of rabbit breeds, originating from all over the world.
The domestic rabbit subspecies of the European rabbit has been domesticated, resulting in a worldwide distribution. Lagomorpha is divided into two families : Leporidae , comprising the rabbits and hares; and Ochotonidae, or the pikas.
Much of the continent was considered to have just one species of rabbit, the tapeti, [137] [b] and most of South America's Southern Cone has had no rabbits until the introduction of the European rabbit, which has been introduced to many places around the world, [54] in the late 19th century. [138] Rabbits have been launched into space orbit. [139]
Domestic rabbits come in a wider variety of colours. Newborn rabbits are altricial (eyes and ears closed, no fur). Although most species live in burrows, the cottontails and hispid hares have forms (nests above ground, usually under a bush). Most of the burrowing species are colonial, and feed together in small groups.