Granada hare
| Granada hare | |
|---|---|
| |
| Granada, Spain | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Lagomorpha |
| Family: | Leporidae |
| Genus: | Lepus |
| Species: | L. granatensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Lepus granatensis Rosenhauer, 1856
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| Granada hare range (red - native, pink - introduced, violet - origin uncertain) | |
The Granada hare (Lepus granatensis), also known as the Iberian hare (Spanish: liebre Ibérica), is a species of hare that is endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and the island of Mallorca. A small species compared to other European hares,[2] it has long been hunted as an important game species.[3]
Taxonomy
[edit]Three subspecies of the Granada hare are known:[4]
- L. g. granatensis is the most abundant and nominate subspecies, found in Andalusia, Extremadura, Meseta Central, Valencia and the south of Aragon and Catalonia. It is the only subspecies present in Portugal.
- L. g. gallaecius described by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. in 1907 was a male adult hare collected in the Province of A Coruña.[5] This subspecies with a darker coat occurs in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula, in Galicia.[6]
- Majorcan hare, L. g. solisi is native to Mallorca in the Balearic Islands, where the species is considered extinct.[1] This subspecies was described by biologists Fernando Palacios Arribas and José Fernández López in 1992[7] and is noted as being smaller than L. g. granatensis.[8]
The Granada hare has been noted as having high genetic diversity.[9]
Description
[edit]
The Granada hare is a hare of average adult weight 2–2.6 kilograms (4.4–5.7 lb) with distinctive reddish outer legs and a clear contrast between the gray-brown fur of its back and the white of its underside and inner legs. This white colouration travels to the tips of the toes. It is smaller than the broom hares (L. castroviejoi) and European hares (L. europaeus) that also occupy the Iberian peninsula, having a head and body length of 44.5 to 47.3 centimetres (17.5 to 18.6 in), hind foot length of 11.66 to 12.74 cm (4.59 to 5.02 in), and ear length of 9.25 to 10.27 cm (3.64 to 4.04 in).[2] The species has some degree of sexual dimorphism, with females being heavier on average when compared to males.[6]
Behaviour and ecology
[edit]Females will produce 2 young in each litter on average, though litters as large as 7 leverets have been recorded.[10]
It may be parasitized by Taenia pisiformis, a tapeworm, as well as coccidiosis-causing parasites in the genus Eimeria. These parasites have marked effects on the host hare's escape ability, with negative effects increasing with parasite quantity and variety.[11] Many other parasites are known to affect the Granada hare, including those in genera Ixodes, Spilopsyllus, Mosgovoyia, Trichostrongylus, Graphidium, Nematodiroides, Passalurus, Micipsella, Hyalomma, Haemaphysalis, Rhipicephalus, Haemodipsus, Linguatula, and Dicrocoelium. It has never been found to contract European brown hare syndrome, though it is susceptible to some strains of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus known since the 1990s. It may also develop bacterial infections, such as tularemia.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Hackländer, K. (2025). "Lepus granatensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2025: e.T41306A217911011. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T41306A217911011.en. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ a b c Alves, Paulo C.; Acevedo, Pelayo (2018). "Lepus granatensis Rosenhauer, 1856 Iberian hare". In Smith, Andrew T.; Johnston, Charlotte H.; Alves, Paulo C.; Hackländer, Klaus (eds.). Lagomorphs: Pikas, Rabbits, and Hares of the World. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. doi:10.1353/book.57193. ISBN 978-1-4214-2341-8. LCCN 2017004268.
- ^ Alves, P. C.; Gonçalves, H.; Santos, M.; Rocha, A. (1 January 2002). "Reproductive biology of the Iberian hare, Lepus granatensis, in Portugal". Mammalian Biology. 67 (6): 358–371. doi:10.1078/1616-5047-00051. ISSN 1616-5047.
- ^ Hoffmann, R.S.; Smith, A.T. (2005). "Lepus (?Eulagos) granatensis". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 199–200. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
- ^ Miller, G. S. (1907). "Two new forms of Spanish Hare". The Annals and Magazine of Natural History; Zoology, Botany, and Geology. 7. 20 (99): 398–401.
- ^ a b Alves, Paulo C.; Acevedo, P.; Melo-Ferreira, J. (2023). "Iberian hare Lepus granatensis Rosenhauer, 1856" (PDF). Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ^ Palacios, F.; Fernandez, J. (1 January 1992). "A new subspecies of hare from Majorca (Balearic Islands)". Mammalia. 56 (1): 71–86. doi:10.1515/mamm.1992.56.1.71. ISSN 1864-1547.
- ^ Purroy, F. J. (2017). "Liebre ibérica – Lepus granatensis" (PDF). In Salvador, A.; Barja, I. (eds.). Enciclopedia Virtual de los Vertebrados Españoles (in Spanish). Madrid: Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales.
- ^ Alves, Paulo C.; Branco, Madalena; Matias, Osório; Ferrand, Nuno (1 April 2000). "New Genetic Variation in European Hares, Lepus granatensis and L. europaeus". Biochemical Genetics. 38 (3): 87–96. doi:10.1023/A:1002715913943. ISSN 1573-4927.
- ^ Farfán, Miguel A.; Vargas, Juan M.; Real, Raimundo; Palomo, Luis J.; Duarte, Jesús (1 September 2004). "Population parameters and reproductive biology of the Iberian hare Lepus granatensis in southern Iberia". Acta Theriologica. 49 (3): 319–335. doi:10.1007/BF03192531. ISSN 2190-3743.
- ^ Alzaga, V.; Vicente, J.; Villanua, D.; Acevedo, P.; Casas, F.; Gortazar, C. (1 March 2008). "Body condition and parasite intensity correlates with escape capacity in Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis)". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 62 (5): 769–775. doi:10.1007/s00265-007-0502-3. ISSN 1432-0762.