Geographic Range
Annamite striped rabbits (
Nesolagus timminsi
) are distributed along the border of Vietnam and Laos in the central and northern
parts of the Annamite Mountains. They are found from the Pu Mat Nature Reserve to
Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
Habitat
Annamite striped rabbits live in rainforests. The specific range of elevations they
inhabit is currently unknown. Their sister species, Sumatran striped rabbits (
Nesolagus netscheri
) are found from 600 to 1400 m above sea level. Annamite striped rabbits have been
found within this range except one specimen that was found at an altitude of 200 m.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- rainforest
Physical Description
Annamite striped rabbits are very similar in appearance to their sister species Sumatran striped rabbits . They have gray hair with seven dorsal stripes on the head and body that are black or dark brown in color. Striped rabbits have reddish-brown rumps, and body length ranges from 350 to 400 mm. Compared to members of the genus Lepus , striped rabbits have relatively short ears, tails and limbs; ear length of Nesolagus is half that of Lepus .
Annamite striped rabbits have a relatively primitive dental structure with a dental
formula: I 2/1 P 3/2 M 3/3, and a simplified paedomorphic pattern on P3. Several skull
features distinguish this species from its sister species
*N. netscheri*
; the foramen lacerum is smaller and narrower mediolaterally, P2 is 93% the length
of P3 and has two folds on its anterior side (only 73% with one fold in
N. netscheri
), and the greatest skull length is 12% larger than
N. netscheri
(78.9 mm vs. 70 mm).
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
Reproduction
Little is know regarding the mating systems of Annamite striped rabbits or its sister species, Sumatran striped rabbits .
Little is know regarding the reproduction of Annamite striped rabbits or its sister species, Sumatran striped rabbits, as few individuals have been observed.
- Key Reproductive Features
- semelparous
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- viviparous
Little is know regarding the reproduction of Annamite striped rabbits or its sister species, Sumatran striped rabbits. As mammals, mothers provide nourishment until weaning.
- Parental Investment
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
The lifespan of Annamite striped rabbits is currently unknown.
Behavior
Annamite striped rabbits are nocturnal and rest during the day in burrows made by
other animals. Their short limbs and relatively weak claws make them poor runners
and burrowers.
Home Range
Little is know about the home range of Annamite striped rabbits.
Communication and Perception
Little is know regarding communication or perception methods of Annamite striped rabbits.
Food Habits
All lagomorphs are herbivores that use hindgut fermentation to metabolize food, and
they reingest their own soft feces in order to extract remaining nutrients. The specific
diet of Annamite striped rabbits is not yet known. Its sister species
Nesolagus netscheri
feeds at night on plants that make up the forest understory. They remain hidden the
understory while foraging rather than foraging in exposed clearings.
- Primary Diet
- herbivore
- coprophage
Predation
Natural predators of Annamite striped rabbits are widely unknown, though they are
trapped by hunters in the Annamite Mountains. Annamite striped rabbits are killed
in ground snares along hunting lines and by dogs that accompany hunters.
Ecosystem Roles
The impact of the Annamite striped rabbits on their ecosystem is unknown. As herbivores, they may act as seed dispersers.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Annamite striped rabbits have been used as a source of food and income by local residents
of the Annamite Mountains in Laos and Vietnam. This species was first discovered being
sold in a food market in Ban Lak, Laos between December 1995 and February 1996.
- Positive Impacts
- food
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known adverse effects of Annamite striped rabbits on humans.
Conservation Status
Annamite striped rabbits are listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List. Even with
the acquisition of more information, however, this species is not likely to be listed
as a species of Least Concern but rather somewhere from Near Threatened to Endangered
because of habitat loss due to agriculture and logging as well as hunting pressures.
Annamite striped rabbits are found in nature reserves within their natural geographic
range such as Umat and Phong Nha and also the Nakai-Nam Theun conservation areas.
They are also found in the Vietnam provincial protected area Nam Chat/Nam Pan and
Xe Sap in Laos. However the Vietnamese and Laotian governments do not presently maintain
any conservation plans for this species.
Other Comments
Annamite striped rabbits were first discovered in 1995. Only ten specimens have been
collected and only a single live rabbit has been photographed in nature. Surridge
et al. (1999) distinguished
N. timminsi
as a new species in 1999. Sumatran striped rabbits (
Nesolagus netscheri
) and Annamite striped rabbits (
N. timminsi
) are sister taxa within the monophyletic genus
Nesolagus
.
Additional Links
Contributors
Amanda Hoedl (author), University of Manitoba, Jane Waterman (editor), University of Manitoba, Gail McCormick (editor), Animal Diversity Web Staff.
- oriental
-
found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- semelparous
-
offspring are all produced in a single group (litter, clutch, etc.), after which the parent usually dies. Semelparous organisms often only live through a single season/year (or other periodic change in conditions) but may live for many seasons. In both cases reproduction occurs as a single investment of energy in offspring, with no future chance for investment in reproduction.
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- food
-
A substance that provides both nutrients and energy to a living thing.
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
- coprophage
-
an animal that mainly eats the dung of other animals
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Abramov, A., R. Timmins, D. Touk, J. Duckworth, R. Steinmetz. 2008. " Nesolagus timminsi " (On-line). In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. Accessed November 06, 2011 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/41209/0 .
Averianov, A., A. Abramov, A. Tikhonov. 2000. A new species of Nesolagus (Lagomorpha, Leporidae) from Vietnam with osteological description. Zoological Institute Russian Academy of Sciences , 3: 1-22.
Can, D., A. Abramov, A. Tikhonov, A. Averianov. 2001. Annamite striped rabbit Nesolagus timminsi in Vietnam. Acta Theriologica , 46(4): 437-440.
Flux, J. 1990. The Sumatran Rabbit Nesolagus netscheri . Pp. 137-139 in Rabbits, hares and pikas: status survey and conservation action plan . Oxford, U. K.: Information Press.
International, B., E. Union. 2001. Pu Mat Nature Reserve. Sourcebook of Existing and Proposed Protected Areas in Vietnam , 1: 1-5. Accessed January 05, 2012 at http://www.iapad.org/publications/profiles/pu_mat_profile.pdf .
Jin, C., Y. Tomida, Y. Wang, Y. Zhang. 2010. First discovery of fossil Nesolagus (Leporidae, Lagomorpha) from Southeast Asia. Science China , 53(8): 1134-1140.
Lumpkin, S., J. Seidensticker. 2011. Rabbits: The Animal Answer Guide . Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.: John Hopkins University Press.
Surridge, A., R. Timmins, G. Hewitt, D. Bell. 1999. Striped rabbits in Southeast Asia. Nature , 400: 726.
2012. "Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park" (On-line). Vietnam Beauty. Accessed January 05, 2012 at http://www.vietnam-beauty.com/vietnam-world-heritages/natural-world-heritage-sites/2-natural-world-heritage-sites/24-phong-nha-ke-bang-national-park.html .