? Amami Rabbit Conservation status: Endangered
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Lagomorpha Family: Leporidae Genus: Pentalagus Species: P. furnessi
Binomial name
Pentalagus furnessi (Stone, 1900)

The Amami Rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi), or Amami no Kuro Usagi (奄美の黒兔/アマミノクロウサギ), also known as the Ryukyu Rabbit, is a primitive dark-furred rabbit which is only found in Amami Oshima and Toku-no-Shima, two small islands between southern Kyushu and Okinawa in Kagoshima Prefecture (but actually closer to Okinawa) in Japan. Often called a living fossil, the Amami Rabbit is a living remnant of ancient rabbits that once lived on the Asian mainland, where they died out, remaining only on the two small islands where they survive today. Public domain photo of an Amami Rabbit. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms (as opposed to folk taxonomy). ... Binomial name Aptenodytes forsteri Gray, 1844 For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders Subclass Multituberculata (extinct) Plagiaulacida Cimolodonta Subclass Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Subclass Triconodonta (extinct) Subclass Eutheria (includes extinct ancestors)/Placentalia (excludes extinct ancestors) Afrosoricida Artiodactyla Carnivora Cetacea Chiroptera Cimolesta (extinct) Creodonta (extinct) Condylarthra (extinct) Dermoptera Desmostylia (extinct) Embrithopoda (extinct) Hyracoidea Insectivora Lagomorpha Litopterna (extinct) Macroscelidea Mesonychia (extinct) Notoungulata (extinct) Perissodactyla Pholidota Plesiadapiformes... Families Leporidae Ochotonidae The Lagomorphs, order Lagomorpha, are an order of mammals of which there are two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas). ... Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Caprolagus Pronolagus Lepus Leporids are the approximately 50 species of rabbits and hares which form the family Leporidae. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday. ... Genera Pentalagus Bunolagus Nesolagus Romerolagus Brachylagus Sylvilagus Oryctolagus Poelagus Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae, found in many parts of the world. ... Amami ÅŒshima is one of the Ryukyu Islands (also known as Nansei Islands). ... Tokunoshima (徳之島町; -chou) is a town located in Oshima District, Kagoshima, Japan. ... Kyushu region, Japan Kyushu (九州 kyÅ«shÅ«) is the third largest island of Japan and most southerly and westerly of the four main islands. ... This article is about the prefecture. ... Kagoshima (鹿児島市; -shi) the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture at the southwest tip of the Kyushu island of Japan. ... Living fossil is a term for any living species (or clade) of organism which closely resembles species otherwise only known from fossils and has no close living relatives. ...

The Amami Rabbit has short legs, a somewhat bulky body, rather large and curved claws, and is active at night. Its ears are also significantly smaller than those of other rabbits or hares. A forest-dweller, it apparently only has one (or sometimes two) young at once, which the mother digs a hole in the ground for them to hide in during the day. At night, the mother opens the entrance to the hole, while watching for predators (like venomous snakes), and then nurses its young, after which it closes the hole with dirt and plant material by thumping on it with its front paws. Amami Rabbits sleep during the day in hidden places, such as caves. Amami Rabbits are also noted for making calling noises, which sound something like the call of a pika; this makes them unique as most rabbits cannot make calling noises. Superfamilies and Families Henophidia Aniliidae Anomochilidae Boidae Bolyeriidae Cylindrophiidae Loxocemidae Pythonidae Tropidophiidae Uropeltidae Xenopeltidae Typhlopoidea Anomalepididae Leptotyphlopidae Typhlopidae Xenophidia Acrochordidae Atractaspididae Colubridae Elapidae Hydrophiidae Viperidae Snakes (from Old English snaca, and ultimately from PIE base *snag- or *sneg-, to crawl), also known as ophidians, are cold blooded legless reptiles closely... Genera Ochotona Prolagus The name pika is used for any member of the Ochotonidae, a family within the order of lagomorphs, which also includes the Leporidae (rabbits and hares). ...

Unfortunately, the Amami Rabbit is endangered, because of hunting, which ended when Japan gave the rabbit legal protection in 1921, but also because of deforestation and killings by dogs, cats, and other animals introduced by humans, which continue today. In particular, mongooses released by island residents to kill poisonous snakes have killed a large number of Amami Rabbits. Deforestation is also very harmful to the rabbits, especially as they are asleep during daylight, and will often be killed without being able to flee. Subfamiles Herpestinae Galidiinae The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ...

External Link

• ARKive - images and movies of the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi)