Teporingo, Zacatuche
The volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi ), also known as teporingo or zacatuche, is a small rabbit that resides in the mountains of Mexico. It is the world's second-smallest rabbit, second only to the pygmy rabbit. It has small rounded ears, short legs, and short, thick fur and weighs approximately 390–600 g (0.86–1.3 lb). It has a life span of 7 to 9 years. The volcano rabbit lives in groups of 2 to 5 animals in burrows (underground nests) and runways among grass tussocks. The burrows can be as long as 5 m and as deep as 40 cm. There are usually 2 to 3 young per litter, born in the burrows. In semi-captivity, however, they do not make burrows and the young are born in nests made in the grass tussocks.
Unlike many species of rabbits (and similar to pikas), the volcano rabbit emits very high-pitched sounds instead of thumping its feet on the ground to warn other rabbits of danger. It is crepuscular and is highly active during twilight, dawn and all times in between. Populations have been estimated to have approximately 150–200 colonies with a total population of 1,200 individuals over their entire range.
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CrepuscularCrepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk). This is distinguished from diurnal...
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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GraminivoreIn zoology, a graminivore (not to be confused with a granivore) is an herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass. Graminivory is a form of g...
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CoprophageCoprophage animals are those that consume feces. Domesticated and wild mammals are sometimes coprophagic, and in some species, this forms an essent...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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BurrowingA burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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JumpingJumping (saltation) can be distinguished from running, galloping, and other gaits where the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively l...
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GrazingGrazing is a method of feeding in which a herbivore feeds on plants such as grasses, or other multicellular organisms such as algae. In agriculture...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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Dominance hierarchyA dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social gr...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withThe Volcano rabbit is a small endangered rabbit that lives in the mountains of Mexico. It is the world's second-smallest rabbit, second only to the pygmy rabbit. It has small rounded ears, short legs, and short, thick fur that ranges in color from brown to black.
Volcano rabbits are found only in Mexico. They are specifically native to four volcanoes just south and east of Mexico City, the largest of these volcanic regions is within the Izta-Popo National Park, other areas include the Chichinautzin and Pelado volcanos. Volcano rabbits are usually found at higher altitudes and occur in open pine forests, open pine woodland, and mixed alder pine forest, and grasslands. They are more abundant near tall, dense herbs and thick vegetation.
Volcano rabbits are social animals. They live in groups of 2 to 5 individuals in underground burrows that can be as long as 5 m and as deep as 40 cm. They also create runways among grass tussocks to navigate their habitat. The rabbits not only feed on these tall grasses but also use these plants as cover to hide from predators. Volcano rabbits are crepuscular and are highly active during twilight, dawn, and all times in between. In order to warn other rabbits of danger, they emit very high-pitched sounds instead of thumping their feet on the ground.
Volcano rabbits are herbivores (graminivores) and feed primarily on grasses which are abundant during wet seasons. During the dry season, they typically feed on shrubs and small trees, as well as other woody plants. Their diet also includes leaves, foliage, and flowers.
Volcano rabbits breed throughout the year but the peak usually occurs between March and early July. After a gestation period of 38-42 days, the female gives birth to 2-3 young per litter. Baby rabbits are born blind but covered in fur. They remain in the burrow for about 3 weeks and become reproductively mature at 4 months old.
The main threats to the Volcano rabbit include logging, harvesting of grasses, livestock grazing, habitat destruction, urban expansion, highway construction, and too frequent forest fires. More recent threats include unsound management policies of its habitat in National Parks and outside, mainly by afforestation (planting trees in grasslands where they do not belong). These threats have resulted in a loss of 15-20% of the Volcano rabbit’s habitat during the last three generations. Hunting is another serious threat, despite the fact that it is illegal to hunt Volcano rabbits under Mexican law.
According to the IUCN Red List, the total population size of the Volcano rabbit is 7,085 individuals. These include 1,811 individuals in Pelado, 1,816 individuals in Tlaloc, 3,458 individuals in Izta-Popo, and approximately 3,056 individuals for the surrounding areas. Currently, this species is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...