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Lagomorph Biology pp 167–185Cite as

Testing Multiple Hypotheses to Identify Causes of the Decline of a Lagomorph Species: The New England Cottontail as a Case Study

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The New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) was first described by Otram Bangs at the turn of the 19th century (Bangs 1895), and is recognized as a distinct species (Holden and Eabry 1970; Wilson 1981). Also called coney or cooney, the New England cottontail (NEC) is a medium-sized rabbit (total length: 398–439 mm, weight: 995–1,347 g; Chapman 1999) with a coat that is dark brown to buff and overlain with a blackwash that gives it a penciled effect. The anterior edges of the ears are covered with black hair and there is a black spot between the ears. These characteristics, combined with morphological features and body mass, differentiate NEC from eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) (Litvaitis et al. 1991).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA

    John A. Litvaitis, Michael S. Barbour, Anne L. Brown, Adrienne I. Kovach, Marian K. Litvaitis, James D. Oehler, Brenda L. Probert, Douglas F. Smith, Jeffrey P. Tash & Rafael Villafuerte

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  1. John A. Litvaitis
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  2. Michael S. Barbour
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  4. Adrienne I. Kovach
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  5. Marian K. Litvaitis
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  1. CIBIO Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Vila do Conde, Portugal

    Paulo C. Alves (Faculdade de Ciências) & Nuno Ferrand (Faculdade de Ciências) (Faculdade de Ciências) &  (Faculdade de Ciências)

  2. Institute of Wildlife Biology and Game Management, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Gregor-Mendel-Str. 33, 1180, Vienna, Austria

    Klaus Hackländer

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Litvaitis, J.A. et al. (2008). Testing Multiple Hypotheses to Identify Causes of the Decline of a Lagomorph Species: The New England Cottontail as a Case Study. In: Alves, P.C., Ferrand, N., Hackländer, K. (eds) Lagomorph Biology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-72446-9_12

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