Abyssinian hare

The Abyssinian hare (Lepus habessinicus) is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. It is almost entirely restricted to the nations of the Horn of Africa, though it extends marginally into eastern Sudan and may also occur in far northern Kenya.

Abyssinian hare
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Lagomorpha
Family:	Leporidae
Genus:	Lepus
Species:	L. habessinicus
Binomial name
Lepus habessinicus Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833[2]
Abyssinian Hare range

Taxonomy

The Abyssinian hare was first described by Wilhelm Hemprich and Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1833. Ehrenberg noted in his account that the hare had been documented many years prior by Hiob Ludolf in his work Historia Aethiopica ('History of Ethiopia'), where it was called tzandjal in Amharic. Ehrenberg also noted the prior work of Henry Salt, who had written about the hare and knew it to be called muntile in the Tigre language, meaning "small hare".^[3] It has been suggested that the Abyssinian hare should be considered conspecific with the Cape hare (L. capensis), but is considered a separate species based on presumed sympatry in their distributions.^[1]

Description

The Abyssinian hare resembles other hares in its general appearance, long limbs and large ears. It grows to a head-and-body length of between 40 and 55 cm (16 and 22 in). The fur is soft and dense. The upper parts are a grizzled silvery grey, with some black on the shoulder, back and rump. The hairs on the back are about 2 cm (0.8 in) long and have greyish-white shafts, then a black band topped by a white or pale buff band, and often a black tip. The flanks are paler, the individual hairs having white shafts. The underparts are white, the fur being less dense than on the back. A thin cinnamon band separates the flanks from the underparts. The chin is whitish, and some individuals have whitish eyerings. The ears are very large, silvery-brown externally and whitish-buff inside. There is a black margin round the tips of the ears and a white fringe round the lower parts of the margin. The tail is 8.5 cm (3.3 in) long, black above and white below.^[2]

Distribution and habitat

The Abyssinian hare is endemic to the Horn of Africa, being present in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan. It occurs in savannah, grassland and steppe, as well as desert and semi-arid conditions where some scrubby vegetation is present to provide cover. It occurs to altitudes of about 2,000 m (6,600 ft), and even higher in Ethiopia.^[1]