Sylvilagus insonus
Omilteme cottontails are large rabbits with long ears, short tails and average sized hind feet. Their ears are dark blackish-brown with a black border and tip. They are greyish-black with a mixture of red and black hairs the back and they have white bellies. The tail is reddish-black on the upper surface and white below. Omilteme cottontails are found with Mexican cottontails and eastern cottontails, but are overall smaller than either of those species.
Omilteme cottontails have a very limited distribution. They are found only in the Sierra Madre del Sur in the state of Guerrero, Mexico. They occur sympatrically with Mexican cottontails (Sylvilagus cunicularius) and eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus). (Cerballos and Navarro, 1991; Diersing, 1981; Nelson, 1904; Nelson, 1909)
Omilteme cottontails are restricted to heavily wooded, humid forests of the Sierra Madre del Sur. They live in dense undergrowth and create burrows under rocks or other debrus. They are restricted to pine and pine-oak forests. (Diersing, 1981; Nelson, 1904; Nelson, 1909)
Nothing is known about Omilteme cottontail mating systems, although they are thought to be similar to other cottontail species, where males and females meet with multiple mates. (Hall, 1981; Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011; Nowak, 1999)
Reproduction in Omilteme cottontails has not been reported in the literature, but is likely to be similar to other cottontail species. Cottontail species generally breed seasonally in the warm months of the year, breed multiple times during the season, and have a gestation length of 28 to 30 days. Females built nests and line them with vegetation and fur and nurse their young in the nest until they become independent, just a few weeks after birth. (Hall, 1981; Nowak, 1999)
Nothing is known of parental investment in Omilteme cottontails, but it is likely to be similar to other cottontails, which construct nests lined with vegetation and shed fur and nurse their young until they become independent at about 2 weeks old. (Hall, 1981; Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011; Nowak, 1999)
The lifespan of Omilteme cottontails is not known, but may be similar to other cottontail species, which live up to 3 to 5 years in the wild. (Cervantes, et al., 1992; Diersing, 1981; Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011; Nelson, 1909)
Very little is known about Omilteme cottontail behavior. They are nocturnal and may be active at dusk and dawn as well. Like other cottontails, they are usually solitary and are only found with other cottontails in places where there is an abundance of food. (Cervantes, et al., 1992; Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011; Nelson, 1904; Nelson, 1909; Nowak, 1999)
Nothing is known about the home range of this species. (Cerballos and Navarro, 1991)
As with most aspects of its biology, there is little known about communication in Omilteme cottontails. Like other cottontails, they are likely to have excellent senses of smell, hearing, and vision and they occasionally use distress and mating calls. (Cervantes, et al., 1992; Hall, 1981; Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011)
Omilteme cottontails are herbivores. Although specific diet preferences are unknown, they are likely to eat grasses and forbs. (Cervantes, et al., 1992; Diersing and Wilson, 1980; Luna and Bousquets, 1993; Nelson, 1909)
Humans are the only recorded predators of Omilteme cottontails. Pumas, jaguars, Mexican gray wolves, coyotes, and zone-tailed hawks frequent the Sierra Madre del Sur region, and are likely predators of Omilteme cottontails. Like other rabbits, they are cryptically colored and can flee quickly for short distances. (Cervantes, et al., 1992; Chapman and Ceballos, 2013; Monroy-vilchis, 2013; World Wildlife Fund, 2013; cervantes and lorenzo, 1997)
Omilteme cottontails may impact their habitat through the plants they eat. They are also a food source for many predators. (Hall, 1981; Lumpkin and Seidensticker, 2011)
There are no known negative impacts of Omilteme cottontails on humans.
Omilteme cottontails are hunted by humans for their fur and for a food source and are now considered one of the most endangered rabbits in the world.
Omilteme cottontails are extremely rare due to their fragmented habitat and extremely restricted range in Sierra Madre del Sur, Guerrero, Mexico, which is less than 500 square kilometers in size. The last reported sighting of an Omilteme cottontail in the wild was in the early 1900’s; however, there was a possible sighting in 1991. This species was listed as extinct in 1990, endangered in 1994, and critically endangered in 1996. (Cervantes, et al., 1992; Cervantes, et al., 2004; Jimenex, et al., 1993; Nelson, 1904; Nelson, 1909; Romero Malpica and Rangel Cordero, 2013; cervantes and lorenzo, 1997)
Christine Quiring (author), University of Manitoba, Jane Waterman (editor), University of Manitoba, Tanya Dewey (editor), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
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