Lagomorphs
Author: Ray Bowers

  Order: Lagomorpha: Hares, Pikas, and Rabbits

Description:
Lagomorphs range in size from 5 to 29.5 inches long for the total body length. Adults weigh from 3.3 ounces to 9.9 pounds. Hares and rabbits have short tails and pikas have no tails. Pikas have small rounded ears and legs that are not large compared to the rest of their body. Hares and rabbits have long ears and large rear legs. Lagomorphs have a pair of incisors (teeth located in the front of the mouth) that grows all the time and a pair of peglike incisors behind the front pair. There is a large space between the incisors and the cheek teeth that is used for grinding.

Geographic range:
Lagomorph fossils that are about fifty million years old have been found. Lagomorphs that are still alive are native to all continents except Antarctica and Australia. But they have been introduced into Australia, as well as many islands that they were not native to. Lagomorphs are found throughout New Mexico, although the picas are limited to the northern mountainous regions.

Habitat:
Pikas live in mountainous alpine and sub-alpine areas, rocky slopes and fields of boulders. Snowshoe hares also live in montane (mountainous) forest areas, but most hares and rabbits are found in a variety of open grassland and desert areas in New Mexico.

Food Web:
Lagomorphs only eat vegetation. They usually feed on grasses and herbaceous plants, but they may also feed on the bark of small trees and shrubs especially in the winter months. They will be preyed upon by a variety of predators such as coyotes and foxes.

Reproduction and Development:
Lagomorphs all develop very differently. Pikas and rabbits are born blind and hairless, but hares are born well-developed and can follow their mothers soon after birth.

Behavior:
The behavior of lagomorphs varies. Pikas are active during the day (are diurnal) and live in groups of other pikas (are colonial), and make hay piles to store food in for the winter. Hares and rabbits are mainly active during the night (nocturnal) and solitary. Hares tend to run away from predators, while rabbits usually run to dense cover or a burrow. Lagomorphs have a special way of eating that may increase the amount of nutrients that can be extracted from their food. They use a reingestive behavior in which fecal pellets are eaten.

Ecosystem roles:
Lagomorphs are plant eaters, eating many different kinds of plants.

Conservation:
Lagomorph populations may be extremely high in some areas especially where there are no natural predators or where the natural predators are diminished because humans are trying to get rid of pests.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia, Mammals
Order: Lagomorpha, Hares, Picas, and Rabbits

Lagomorphs are divided into two families:

Ochotonidae: Pikas
Leporidae: Hares and Rabbits

There are eight species of rabbits found in New Mexico.

References:
Cockrum, E. Lendell; and Yar Petryszyn. 1992. Mammals of the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. Tucson: Treasure Chest Publications, 192 p.

Findley, James S. 1987. The Natural History of New Mexican Mammals. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 164 p.

Findley, James S.; Arthur H. Harris; Don E. Wilson; and Clyde Jones. 1975. Mammals of New Mexico. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 360 p.

Noeman, David. 1994. Prehistoric Life. USA: Macmillal, Inc.

Nowak, Ronald M. 1991. Walker's Mammals of the World, 5th ed. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2 vols.

Related Terms: pikas, rabbits, lagomorpha, lagomorph