Sylvilagus brasiliensis is the only native rabbit in Argentina; other forms were introduced in the late 1800's.
This species is also commonly known as the forest rabbit and Tapiti.
The Myxoma virus is commonly found in S. brasiliensis. Blood-feeding arthropod vectors, such as mosquitoes or fleas, mainly transmit this virus. Myzoma virus commonly causes a swelling of the face and head, resulting in mucoid cutaneous tumors.
No information was found on S. brasiliensis communication. However, other members of the genus are known to communicate with high pitched squeals and distress calls. As mammals, it is likely that they use scent cues. Tactile communication probably occurs between mates, rivals, and a mother and her offspring.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Sylvilagus brasiliensis is not protected under CITES or IUCN.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
No information was found on an negative impact that this species might have on humans.
Rabbits are an important game species in many parts of South America, and are an important source of protein in many rural areas.
Positive Impacts: food
Sylvilagus brasiliensis is likely prey for numerous medium and large carnivores. It probably affects vegetational communities through its foraging.
Sylvilagus brasiliensis forages on green vegetation of grass and shrubs.
Plant Foods: leaves
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Sylvilagus brasiliensis ranges from southern Mexico to northern Argentina. It commonly occurs in Amazonian Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia and is common in eastern Brazil. In southern South America S. brasiliensis is found in both eastern and western Paraguay and in Argentina across the northern provinces and as far south as Tucuman province.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
Sylvilagus brasiliensis spends its time in moist forested areas. It also inhabits transitional forest and grasslands in the Chaco.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest
There are no reports of the longevity of this species. However, congeners are known to live as long as 5 years in the wild, and have lived longer than 9 years in captivity.
Sylvilagus brasiliensis is a medium-sized rabbit, ranging in weight from 700 to 1000 g. The pelage is typically yellowish-brown, but some individuals are a darker brown or reddish color. The ventrum is whitish. This species has a characteristic russet patch on the dorsum of the neck. It also has pale spots above the eye and on the muzzle.
Range mass: 0.7 to 1 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Predation on S. brasiliensis has been reported in the western Amazon, in Acre, Brazil. A tayra, a neotropical mustelid, was seen running in pursuit of S. brasiliensis, but retreated when the observer was detected. Various canids and felids probably also prey on this species.
Other members of the genus Sylvilagus are known to remain very still for prolonged periods, possibly as a means of avoiding detection by predators using visual cues to catch prey. These rabbits are also known for their erratic flight from predators, in which they move in complex zig-zag patterns, possibly helping them to escape the predator.
Known Predators:
No information was found on S. brasiliensis mating systems. However, other species in the genus are apparently polygynous. Males may compete to establish dominance hierarchies, which in turn determine mating priority. The rigidity of these hierarchies varies between species.
Sylvilagus brasiliensis has a gestation period of 42 to 45 days. A small litter size of 2 is common. In Paraguay, a female with three embryos was collected.
Sylvilagus brasiliensis apparently reproduce only once per year. Females have a cycle in which the interbirth interval is about 270 days. In Misiones province, Argentina, females reproduce in September.
Rabbits of this genus are typically precocial. They are born with their eyes open, and are able to leave the nest by the age of 12 to 18 days. In some species, sexual maturity can be reached by the age of 80 days, although most species appear to wait until the following year to mate. Adult size may be attained by 23 to 30 weeks.
Breeding interval: These rabbits apparently breed once per year.
Breeding season: Females breed in August, producing their litters in September.
Range number of offspring: 1 to 6.
Average number of offspring: 1.9.
Range gestation period: 26 to 30 days.
Range weaning age: 14 to 18 days.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization ; viviparous
No information was found on S. brasiliensis reproductive parental care. However, based upon the patterns in the genus, we can assume that the young are precocial, and that they leave the nest, becoming independent within three weeks of birth.
The female probably provides the bulk of parental care, nursing the young, grooming them, and keeping them safe in the nest until they are ready to disperse. There are no reports of male parental care in the genus.
Parental Investment: no parental involvement; altricial ; pre-fertilization (Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Female)
The common tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis), also known as the Brazilian cottontail, forest cottontail, or (formerly) simply tapeti is a species of cottontail rabbit. It is small to medium-sized with a small, dark tail, short hind feet, and short ears. As traditionally defined, its range extends from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, but this includes several distinctive population that have since been split into separate species. Under this narrower definition, the true tapeti only occurs in the Atlantic Rainforest of coastal northeastern Brazil and it is classified as "Endangered" by the IUCN.[2] The American Society of Mammalogists concurs, but also tentatively classifies several distinct populations that have not yet received proper species names into S. brasiliensis, and thus considers it to range from Venezuela south to Argentina.[3]
The species was first described scientifically by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, published in 1753.[4] The type locality was in Pernambuco, Brazil.[5] In addition to its vernacular name "tapeti", it commonly known as the "forest cottontail"[6] or the "Brazilian cottontail".[7]
As many as 37 subspecies of the tapeti have been described,[8] but in 2005 Mammal Species of the World recognized 21, having placed the remaining in synonymy and considering the Dice's cottontail (S. dicei) as a separate species.[1] Nevertheless, the tapeti as traditionally defined is a species complex[9] and it was already recognized in 1990 that a taxonomic review was necessary.[2] Consequently, recent authorities have recommended splitting off several taxa typically considered subspecies of the tapeti and recognizing them as separate species: S. andinus in the Andean highlands of Ecuador (perhaps also in the Andes of Colombia, Venezuela and northern Peru),[8] S. gabbi (with subspecies truei) from Panama to Mexico,[10] S. sanctaemartae in the lowlands of northern Colombia,[9] and S. tapetillus from coastal southeastern Brazil.[8] Additionally, cottontail rabbits from the Guianas have not been clearly assigned to a subspecies, but are traditionally included in the tapeti. In 2017, these were described as a new species, S. parentum, based on specimens from Suriname.[9]
The common tapeti is a small- to medium-sized rabbit. It has a head-body length of 320 mm (13 in), a tail that is 21 mm (0.83 in), hind feet measuring 71 mm (2.8 in), ears that are 54 mm (2.1 in) (measured from notch to tip), and it weighs an average of 934 grams (32.9 oz). The color of its back is brown with a speckled appearance (resulting from the black hairs tips), and it has a rufous spot on its neck. Its belly and tail underside are also rufous. It has six mammae.[7] Two different karyotypes have been reported for this species: 2n=36, FN=68; and 2n=40, FN=76.[5]
It is a solitary, nocturnal animal, usually seen after nightfall or before dawn, feeding on grass and browse.[11] It has also been recorded eating Harrya chromapes, a bolete mushroom.[12] It is found in forested habitats, close to swamps and along river edges, and in disturbed areas, such as gardens and plantations.[11]
The common tapeti occurs in tropical rain forests, deciduous forests, and second growth forests in Mexico and Central America, as well as pastures surrounding forest habitat. Its range extends from southern Tamaulipas in Mexico, south along the eastern coast of Mexico, through Guatemala, possibly El Salvador, Honduras, eastern Nicaragua, eastern Costa Rica, and Panama. It occurs through the northern half of South America, including Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina, and much of Brazil.[2] The southern tip of its known distribution occurs in Tucuman province.[7] It occurs at elevations from sea level to 4,800 m (15,700 ft).[2] It is the only leporid species found in most of its range.[11]
Rabbits build nests built of dry grasses above the ground to rear their young. They have a central chamber and three or four smaller chambers at the end of a corridor. The gestation period varies with the geographical location. Rabbits in Chiapas, Mexico gestate for about 28 days, and have three to eight offspring, while rabbits in the Páramos of the Andes gestate for 44 days, and have an average litter size of 1.2. Both of these populations breed year-round.[13]
Like its California relative, the brush rabbit (Sylvilagus bachmani), the common tapeti is a natural reservoir for the myxoma virus.[14] This relationship was discovered by Brazilian physician Henrique de Beaurepaire Rohan Aragão in the 1940s.[15] The virus causes a benign cutaneous fibroma in its hosts, but it causes the lethal disease myxomatosis, in European rabbits.[16]
The common tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis), also known as the Brazilian cottontail, forest cottontail, or (formerly) simply tapeti is a species of cottontail rabbit. It is small to medium-sized with a small, dark tail, short hind feet, and short ears. As traditionally defined, its range extends from southern Mexico to northern Argentina, but this includes several distinctive population that have since been split into separate species. Under this narrower definition, the true tapeti only occurs in the Atlantic Rainforest of coastal northeastern Brazil and it is classified as "Endangered" by the IUCN. The American Society of Mammalogists concurs, but also tentatively classifies several distinct populations that have not yet received proper species names into S. brasiliensis, and thus considers it to range from Venezuela south to Argentina.
