Lagomorpha

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Lagomorphs[1] Fossil range: Earliest Eocene - Recent
Pika, Ochotona princeps, in Sequoia National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Infraclass: Eutheria Superorder: Euarchontoglires Order: Lagomorpha Brandt, 1855
Families
Leporidae Ochotonidae Prolagidae (extinct)

The lagomorphs, order Lagomorpha, are an order of mammals of which there are two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas).

Though members of order Lagomorpha can resemble rodents (order Rodentia), and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early twentieth century, they have since been considered a separate order. For a time it was common to consider the lagomorphs only distant relatives of the rodents, to whom they merely bore a superficial resemblance.

[edit] Characteristics

Lagomorphs (loģ o-moŕ fs)(Gr. lagos, hare: + morphē, form) differ from rodents in that:

• they have four incisors in the upper jaw (not two, as in the Rodentia);
• they are almost wholly herbivorous (unlike rodents, many of which will eat both meat and vegetation; the few recorded exceptions within the Lagomorpha occur among members of both Lepus and Ochotona, and involve the occasional foraging for carrion as a supplementary winter food source);^[2][3][4]
• the male's scrotum is in front of the penis (unlike rodents, which is behind); and
• the penis contains no bone (baculum), unlike in rodents.

However, they resemble rodents in that their teeth grow throughout their life, thus necessitating constant chewing to keep them from growing too long.

[edit] Classification

• ORDER LAGOMORPHA^[1]
  • Family Ochotonidae: pikas
    • Genus Ochotona
  • Family †Prolagidae: Sardinian Pika and other related extinct pikas
    • Genus †Prolagus
  • Family Leporidae: rabbits and hares
    • Genus Brachylagus
    • Genus Bunolagus
    • Genus Caprolagus
    • Genus Lepus
    • Genus Nesolagus
    • Genus Oryctolagus
    • Genus Pentalagus
    • Genus Poelagus
    • Genus Pronolagus
    • Genus Romerolagus
    • Genus Sylvilagus

[edit] See also

• Minorcan Giant Lagomorph

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} Hoffmann, Robert S.; Andrew T. Smith (2005-11-16). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 185-211. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 
2. ^ Snowshoe Hare (HTML). eNature: FieldGuides. eNature.com (2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
3. ^ Best, Troy L. & Henry, Travis Hill (Jun. 2, 1994), “Lepus arcticus”, Mammalian Species (no. 457): 1-9, ISSN 00763519, OCLC 46381503, DOI 10.2307/3504088 
4. ^ "Column 105: Pikas are not picky eaters", yourYukon, Environment Canada: Pacific and Yukon Region, 1998. Retrieved on 2008-03-23.