The Lagomorphs, order Lagomorpha, are an order of mammals of which there are two families, Leporidae (hares and rabbits), and Ochotonidae (pikas).
Though members of order Lagomorpha can resemble rodents (order Rodentia), and were classified as a superfamily in that order until the early twentieth century, they are now regarded as separate. They differ from rodents in that:
they have four (not two as in rodents) incisors in the upper jaw;
they will re-digest first time feces to obtain the most from their plant diet.
They resemble rodents, however, in that their teeth grow throughout their life, thus necessitating constant chewing to keep them from growing too long.
Lagomorphs are small to medium-sized animals that in many ways resemble large rodents.
Another characteristic of lagomorphs is the location of the testes in males, which lie in front of the penis as in marsupials.
Lagomorphs have the ability to produce two types of fecal material, one that is wet and eaten again for further nutrient absorption, and one that is dry and discarded.
All lagomorphs (meaning “hare-shaped”) are small to medium-sized terrestrial herbivores.
With only two families and 87 species, order Lagomorpha is not a diverse group of mammals (there are more than 2,000 rodent species), but as native or introduced species they have a nearly worldwide distribution.
However, almost 30 percent of all lagomorph species are recognized as endangered species, including four pikas, seven hares, seven cottontails, and seven other...
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