Morphology
The wild European rabbit. Oryetolagus euniculus, from which all our modern breeds are derived, weighs about 2.5 kg and is covered in brown ticked fur. often described as agouti coloured.
This colouration creates a dappled effect which breaks up the outline and helps camoullage the individual. Selective breeding has led to the development of about 50 breeds of domestic rabbit ranging in weight from 1-8 kg. with a variety of fur textures and colours, many of which would beM
unsuitable for life in the wild.
The Iieadis rounded with long, black-tipped upright ear pinnae set high on either side. They arc large, representing approximately 12% of the body surface, and very vascular which enables them to be used as a means of thermoregulation. The pinnae are extremely mobile and are designed to pick up sounds of danger. The Iop breeds of rabbit have been developed to have ears which hang downwards.
The eyes are prolruberanl and set on either side of the head, providing a wide range of monocular vision to detect predators. Rabbitsarecrepuscular. i.e. active at dawn and dusk, and their sight is adapted to lower light intensities. The lips are soft and covered in sensitive hairs. The upper lip is divided by a deep philtrum which enables the rabbit to nibble grass very short.
Mature female rabbits develop a large fold of skin under the chin known as the dewlap from which they pull fur to line their nests before giving birth. The skin of (he rabbit is well supplied with seem glands which are used for territorial marking. They can be found under the chin, at the anus and on either side of the perineum.
The JoreIfCjs are relatively short and used for digging. while the Iiiriillecjs are longer and provide the propulsive force for the characteristic hopping method of locomotion. They also kick the earth away when the rabbit is digging its burrow; There are live toes on each forepaw and four on each hindfool. Each toe ends in a sharp claw, those of the hindfeet being long and straight. The feet are entirely covered in fur and there are no footpads.
When the rabbit is at rest, the entire plantar surface of the hindlimb from toes to hock rests on the ground. When grazing, among a group of rabbits there will always be one or tw,o standing upright on their hindlegs, watching for predators. If danger threatens they will thump their hindlegs on the ground to warn the others. Both of these behavioural patterns can be seen in pet rabbits. Rabbits have short Iluffy tails w ith white undersides. As the rabbit runs the white colouration ‘flashes’ to warn the rest of the group of possible danger.