Transcript yerke lagomorpha.pps

Lagomorpha
Order Lagomorpha
• Derived from Greek lagos ("hare") and
morphē ("form")
• 80 species
• Two families
- Leporidae – Rabbits and hares
- Ochotonidae – pikas
Characteristics of Lagomorpha
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have 4 incisor on upper jaw (rodents have 2)
only eat vegetation
male's scrotum is in front of the penis
penis has no bone (baculum) unlike the rodent
penis
• will redigest first-time droppings (called
cecotropes) to obtain the most from their
plant diet
Ochotonidae
• American Pika
- Western North America
- live in rock piles
- size of a large hamster
- rounded ears
- egg shape body
- 6 to 8.5 inches in length
- weigh 100grams
Pikas
• Herbivore
• Active year round, even in winter
• It survives the cold winter by eating dried vegetation they have stored
away in hay piles
• alpine grasses, sedges, thistles, fireweed, cushion plants and lichens
• Food passes quickly though the digestive, system only partially digested
• eat their own feces (waste) to extract more nutrients in the digestion
process.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tus1FHc7XWU
Eastern Cotton Tail
• Mating during Feb. – September
• Males mate with more then one female
• Females can have 1-7 litters a years with as many as 112 kits.
• Average number of litters is 3-4 and average kits are 5
• Kits are weaned at 3 weeks and leave the nest after 7
weeks
Eastern Cotton Tail
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Territorial
Nocturnal
When running can jump 15 feet
Runs zigzag when chased
Can run up to 18mph
Preferred habitat: Forests, swamps, thickets,
bushes or open areas where it can dig a burrow
are optimal habitation sites for this species
Species in Pennsylvania
• Three different Lagomorphs in Pa
- Eastern Cotton Tail
- New England Cotton Tail
- Snowshoe Hare
Differences
• To determine the difference between Eastern
Cottontail and New England Cottontail
– In the field compare ear size and body size
– New England have smaller ears and bodies
– (95%) have a black line on the front edge of the
ear (Easterns 40%)
– In the laboratory skull characteristics and
measurements and by DNA techniques.
Sylvilagus floridanus (Eastern Cotton Tail)
New England Cottontail Distribution
Snowshoe Hare Distribution
Other North American Species
Pygmy Rabbit
Brachylagus idahoensis
Other North American Species
Arctic Hare
Lepus arcticus
Other North American Species
White- tailed Jack Rabbit
Lepus townsendii
Other North American Species
European Rabbit
Oryctolagus cuniculus
Domesticated Rabbit
Other North American Species
Swamp Rabitts
Sylvilagus aquaticus
References
• http://thewebsiteofeverything.com
• http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu
• http://www.pikaworks.com/pikas/