Varying Hare

Varying Hare
Related Category: Vertebrate Zoology
any of several medium-sized hares, sometimes known as snowshoe rabbits, having white fur in winter and turning brownish in summer. They are 18 to 19 in.

ABBREVIATION : LEAM COMMON NAMES : snowshoe hare varying hare snowshoe rabbit TAXONOMY : The currently accepted scientific name of the snowshoe hare is Lepus americanus Erxleben [18].

Of the others, two, namely the large prairie-hare (L. campestris) and the smaller varying hare (L. [Poecilolagus] americanus), turn white in winter; the former having long ears and the whole tail white, ...

The Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus), also called the Varying Hare, is a species of hare found in North America. It has the name "snowshoe" because of the large size of its hind feet and the marks its tail leaves.

In North America hares include the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit and also the jack rabbit , which has ear's that are sometimes one-third of its body length . Both can run at speeds of 30 mi. an hour; the Jack rabbit can leap 20 ft.

Other Names
Snowshoe Rabbit, Varying Hare
Size
Length: 41 - 52cm including tail of 4 - 5cm. The ears are 6 - 7cm long. Weight: about 1.5kg.Males are slightly smaller than females.

Also known as:
Snowshoe Rabbit, Varying Hare
Sexual Dimorphism:
Females are larger than males.

Cottontails live across the Americas from southern Canada to Argentina and Paraguay. Minnesota is also home to two of the rabbit's cousins: the showshoe or varying hare and the jackrabbit.

See also: Rabbit, Hare, Snowshoe Rabbit, Jackrabbit, Snowshoe Hare