The Tehuantepec Jackrabbit (Lepus flavigularis) is easily distinguished from other species of jackrabbits by two black stripes that run from the base of the ears to the nape, and by its white flanks. Underparts are white, upperparts are bright-brown washed with black, rump is gray, and the tail is black. This leporid is one of the largest jackrabbits and has large ears and legs. Adults weigh about 3500 to 4000 grams.

Distribution

The Tehuantepec Jackrabbit is a rare endemic

Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 of Oaxaca

Oaxaca

Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...

, México

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, and is only found along savanna

Savanna

A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...

s and grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

y dune

Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...

s on the shores of a salt water lagoon

Lagoon

A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

 connected to the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Three small populations persist isolated from each other.

The former distribution of the Tehuantepec Jackrabbit is not documented in detail, but it is estimated that the leporid's historic geographic range along the Mexican Pacific Coast on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec from Salina Cruz in Oaxaca to Tonalá in Chiapas, an area of perhaps only 5000 km sq.

Habitat and Ecology

Tropical dry savannas dominated by native grasses (Bouteloua

Bouteloua

Bouteloua is a genus of the grass family, Poaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as Grama. The genus was named for Claudio and Esteban Boutelou, 19th century Spanish botanists.-Selected species:-External links:*...

, Paspalum

Paspalum

Paspalum is a genus of the grass family . Commonly known as paspalums, bahiagrasses or dallis grasses most are tall perennial American grasses. They are most diverse in subtropical and tropical regions....

) with an overstory of sparse bushes of nanche (Byrsonima crassifolia), and scattered trees of morro (Crescentia

Crescentia

Crescentia is a genus of six species of flowering plants in the family Bignoniaceae, native to southern North America, the Caribbean, Central America and northern South America...

) are selected by the Tehuantepec Jackrabbit. The Tehuantepec Jackrabbit is also found in coastal grassy dunes with Opuntia decumbens, Opuntia tehuantepecana, and Sabal mexicana

Sabal mexicana

Sabal mexicana is a species of palm tree that is native to North America. Common names include Mexican Palmetto, Texas Palmetto, Texas Sabal Palm, Rio Grande Palmetto, and Palma de Mícharos. The specific epithet, "mexicana", is Latin for "of Mexico." It is closely related to S...

.

Home ranges overlap with one or more individuals regardless of sex and age, and home range size is about 50 ha with core areas of 9 ha for adult jackrabbits. The Tehuantepec Jackrabbit is nocturnal and crepuscular

Crepuscular

Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is, thus, in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright...

, and during the diurnal hours it rests in forms under bushes or grasses.

Native mammals that coexist with the Tehuantepec Jackrabbit are the Eastern Cottontail

Eastern Cottontail

The eastern cottontail is a New World cottontail rabbit, a member of the family Leporidae. It is one of the most common rabbit species in North America.-Distribution:...

 (Sylvilagus floridanus), the Nine-banded Armadillo

Nine-banded Armadillo

The nine-banded armadillo , or the nine-banded, long-nosed armadillo, is a species of armadillo found in North, Central, and South America, making it the most widespread of the armadillos...

 (Dasypus novemcinctus), the Hooded

Hooded Skunk

The hooded skunk is a species of mammal in the family Mephitidae. It can be distinguished from the similar striped skunk by its longer tail and longer, softer coat of fur. A ruff of white fur around its neck gives the animal its common name. It is generally more white dorsally, and black...

 and Western Hog-nosed Skunk

Western Hog-nosed Skunk

Recent work has concluded that the western hog-nosed skunk or common hog-nosed skunk is the same species as the American hog-nosed skunk, and that Conepatus leuconotus is the correct name of the merged populations...

s (Mephitis macroura, Conepatus mesoleucus), the Virginia Opossum

Virginia Opossum

The Virginia opossum , commonly known as the North American opossum or tlacuache in Mexico, is the only marsupial found in North America north of Mexico. A solitary and nocturnal animal about the size of a domestic cat, and thus the largest opossum, it is a successful opportunist...

 (Didelphis marsupialis), the Gray Mouse Opossum (Tlacuatzin canescens), the Gray Fox

Gray Fox

The gray fox is a mammal of the order Carnivora ranging throughout most of the southern half of North America from southern Canada to the northern part of South America...

 (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), the Common Raccoon (Procyon lotor), and the Coyote

Coyote

The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...

 (Canis latrans). Of these, the Gray Fox and the Coyote are native predators of the Tehuantepec Jackrabbit.

Reproduction

The length of the breeding season may extend from February to December, with a peak in reproduction during the rainy season (from May to October). Litter size is one to four embryos, but the number of litters produced per female per year remains to be investigated.

Conservation

The Tehuantepec Jackrabbit is listed as critically endangered in the Mexican Official Norm NOM-059-ECOL-2001, and as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Endangered Species.

Threats

The Tehuantepec Jackrabbit is jeopardized by habitat loss and fragmentation, poaching, small population size, and genetic isolation. Introduction of exotic grasses, frequent and induced fires, agricultural and cattle-raising activities, and human settlements are deteriorating the floristic diversity and native vegetation structure in savannas inhabited by Tehuantepec jackrabbits. Locally, the Tehuantepec Jackrabbit is taken occasionally as subsistence hunting, and very occasionally as pets in rural communities. Predation by the Gray Fox and the Coyote is the major cause of mortality of the Tehuantepec Jackrabbit. However, poachers may come from nearby cities and decimate populations in a few nights of hunting.