leporidæ

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. A family of mammals of the order Rodentia or Glires and suborder Duplicidentata; the hares. The Leporidæ, together with the Lagomyidæ. compose the suborder. The dental formula of Leporidæ is: 2 incisors above and 1 below in each half-jaw, no canines, 3 premolars in each upper and 2 in each lower half-jaw, and 3 molars above and below in each half-jaw—in all, 28. The milk -dentition is: i. pm. = × 2 = 18. There are in the adult 2 pairs, and in the young 3 pairs, of upper front teeth, the largest number found in this order. The grinders are all alike rootless and mostly trilaminate; the skull is large, and noted for its many vacuities or fontanelles among the bones; clavicles are present, but rudimentary; the scapula has a metacromion; the tibia and fibula are united as in murine rodents; the radius and ulna are complete, but fixed; and the spinal column is remarkably long in the lumbar region. The hind limbs are disproportionately long, and the gait is more or less saltatorial. The hind as well as the fore feet are entirely furry, and the whole length of the metatarsus may be applied to the ground. There are 5 digits on the fore feet, 4 on the hind. The head is full and globose, with very long ears, large eyes, and prominent, mobile, cleft upper lip; there are no cheek-pouches, and the inside of the mouth is partly furry. The tail is short and habitually recurved. The male organs are external; the uterus is two-horned, and the mammæ are numerous- about 5 pairs. There is but one living genus, Lepus, but there are several extinct genera, as Palæologus, - Panolax, and Praotherium. See hare, rabbit.
2. Somewhat over 150 species and subspecies of this family have been described, just about one half the number being from North America, where the geographic and climatic conditions are favorable for the production of local races. They have been divided, by Dr. Lyon, into 10 genera: Lepus, Oryctolagus, Sylvilagus, Limnolagus, Brachylagus, Pronolagus, Romerolagus, Nesolagus, Caprolagus, and Pentalagus. The most remarkable of these are Romerolagus, which has long clavicles and resembles the pikas somewhat, and the heavily built Pentalagus from the Loochoo Islands.