Dice's cottontail
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox Dice's cottontail (Sylvilagus dicei) is a species of cottontail rabbit in the family Leporidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama, in páramo and cloud forest habitats.[1]
Taxonomy
Dice's cottontail was first described by William P. Harris Jr., in 1932. He described a specimen that was taken at an elevation of Script error: No such module "convert". from El Copey de Dota in the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica, and noted that it was the largest known species within the group of forest rabbits related to the Central American tapeti (Sylvilagus gabbi).[2] Mammalogist George Gilbert Goodwin listed the species in his 1946 work Mammals of Costa Rica, where he called the species the "greater Costa Rican forest hare".[3] It was at one time thought to be a subspecies of the common tapetí or forest cottontail (Sylvilagus brasiliensis) but is now recognised as separate.[4] Some populations in Braulio Carrillo National Park are thought to belong to another species despite previously being assigned to S. dicei. Dice's cottontail has no known fossils.[5]
Description
Dice's cottontail is one of the larger cottontail rabbits. Its back is dappled black and brown and its flanks greyish-black. The blackish tail is tiny and the underparts are dull white. It has a brown patch on its throat.[6]
Distribution and habitat
Dice's cottontail is endemic to the Cordillera de Talamanca which straddles the border between Panama and Costa Rica. Its habitat is Alpine meadows and Páramo grasslands above the tree line. It also occurs in the oak-dominated cloud forests and high elevation shrublands at an altitude of up to Script error: No such module "convert". in Cerro Chirripó.[1]
Behavior and ecology
Dice's cottontail spends much of its time resting in forms, shallow depressions in the earth, which are concealed under logs and underbrush. The rabbit mainly feeds at night. It will readily take to water, as it is an able swimmer.[3]
Status
Prior to 1990, little was known about Dice's cottontail, and surveys had not been conducted to evaluate its conservation status.[6] The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) first listed the cottontail as "insufficiently known" in 1994 on its Red List of Endangered Species, and as "endangered" in 1996.[1] This changed to "data deficient" in 2008, with authors Smith and Boyer citing a need for research on potential threats to the species.[7] The IUCN has identified a number of threats that it may face. Coyotes have become established in the area and may prey on it, and other predators may also be on the increase. Degradation of the forest land is taking place as trees are cut down and the land turned to pasture. Fire is also a concern because the local inhabitants regularly burn the land for range control and this may result in loss of grass for forage and loss of suitable vegetation cover in which the cottontail can lie up by day. These factors are causing the animal's range to contract upward into the mountains; this area is a national park, which should provide some protection to the species.[1]
References
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- ↑ Template:MSW3 Lagomorpha
- ↑ Template:Lagomorphs2018
- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Template:Cite IUCN
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