Pentalagus furnessi (Stone, 1900)

Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Leporidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 107-148 : 109

1.

Amami Rabbit

Pentalagus furnessi

French: Lapin des Amami / German: Ryukyu-Kaninchen / Spanish: Conejo de Amami

Other common names: Ryukyu Rabbit

Taxonomy. Caprolagus furnessi Stone, 1900 ,

“Liu Kiu Islands [= Amami Oshima, Ryukyu Islands],” Japan.

This species has been recognized as one of the most primitive lagomorphs in the world. Monotypic.

Distribution. Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima (Ryukyu Is) in S Japan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 420-470 mm, tail 11-35 mm, ear 40-50 mm, hindfoot 85-92 mm; weight 2.2-9 kg. The Amami Rabbit is medium-sized and has dark, thick, and woolly pelage. Dorsal fur is dark brown,it becomes reddish brown onsides, and ventralfur is light reddish brown. It has small eyes and short ears, hindfeet, and tail. Snoutis long, and limbs have relatively large strong nails (10-20 mm long) for digging nest holes. Nails are straight on forefeet and curved on hindfeet. Morphologicaltraits of the Amami Rabbit are similar to fossil species found in the Miocene stratum. Dark fur might provide camouflage in the dark forests they inhabit.

Habitat. Originally dense primary forest prior to widespread deforestation, currently, subtropical forests of all successional stages but not near cultivated or residential areas. Amami Rabbits are also found in clear cuttings and forest edges covered by the Japanese pampas grass Miscanthus sinensis (Poaceae) . The most suitable habitat seems to be a mosaic of the following different habitat types: rich undergrowth cover to provide abundant food, short arboreal cover of young secondary forests to provide hiding places, and old forests to yield acorns in autumn. The Amami Rabbit occurs from sea level up to 694 m on Amami Oshima and 645 m on Tokunoshima.

Food and Feeding. Diet of the Amami Rabbit consists of more than 29 species of plants: twelve species of herbaceous plants (e.g. Adenostemma lavenia, Asteraceae ; Carex , Cyperaceae ; M. sinensis and Peucedanum japonicum, Apiaceae ; and Mosla dianthera, 1.amiaceae) and 17 shrub species (e.g. Castanopsis sieboldii, Fagaceae ; Melastoma candidum, Melastomataceae ; Rubus sieboldii, Rosaceae ; Styraxjaponicus, Styracaceae ; and Zanthoxylum ailanthoides, Rutaceae ). The Amami Rabbit eats mainly sprouts and young parts of plants but also nuts from many plant species. Nuts of C. sieboldii are the main part of the diet in autumn and winter.

Breeding. The Amami Rabbit has two reproductive seasons per year: March—-May and September-December. Females dig burrows where young are born. Burrow has a 15cm entrance and is 150 cm deep, with a chamber (30 cm in diameter) full of leaves. Litter size is one. Neonates weigh ¢.100 g; have short brown hair, and closed eyes and ears.Juveniles stay in nest chambers. The female returns once per day between 20:00 h and 21:00 h to nurse for ¢.30 seconds. When the female leaves the burrow, she covers the entrance with soil and camouflages it with twigs and leaves. Females have three pairs of mammae (pectoral, abdominal, and inguinal). Mothers expel juveniles from nursing burrows at 3—4 months of age.

Activity patterns. The Amami Rabbit is primarily nocturnal. Time of activity varies with season and tends to increase as winter approaches. Individuals burrow underground in densely covered forest valleys, where they stay during the day. Amami Rabbits also use bases of trees, bases of rocks, and inside fallen trees as burrows. Individuals leave their nests at ¢.17:00 h and return and enter nests at c.06:00 h. They frequently use runaways to climb up and down steep slopes from burrows and climb through undergrowth to open areas.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Amami Rabbits move 100-200 m away from their burrow to feed and drop pellets on open places. Dung piles consist of an average of 28.7 pellets and are placed on runaways. Average home range size was 1-3 ha for four males and 1 ha for three females, recorded with radio-transmitters. Home ranges of females did not overlap, but those of the males did. Male home ranges overlapped those of the females. The Amami Rabbit has a vocalization like pikas ( Ochotona ) and beats the ground with its hindfeet. At dusk before they become active, individuals appear at entrances of their burrows and produce calls that can be heard loud and clear in small valleys. A mother vocalizes to attract her young when she approaches her nursing burrow. A vocalization usually consists of 3-4 calls like “puyi, puyi, puyi” (frequency 6-12 kHz, length 0-4-0-6 seconds, and interval 0-4-0-6 seconds). Numbers of vocalizations per hour by three captive Amami Rabbits were 3-30 with peaks at 20:00 h and 03:00 h in August and 3-24 with peaks at 19:00-23:00 h and 03:00 h in October.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Endangered on The IUCN Red List. The Amami Rabbit is endemic on two Japanese islands: Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima. Its area of occupancyis estimated to be 334-4 km? (301-4 km? on Amami Oshima and 33 km? on Tokunoshima), based on fecal pellet presence and suitable habitat. Amami Rabbits exist in four fragmented subpopulations, three of which are very small. Amami Rabbits are experiencing continuing population declines because of their small area of occupancy, small area and quality of available habitat, and low numbers of mature individuals. Declines are aggravated by invasive predators and habitat loss caused by forest clearing and resort construction. Probably in 1979, the Javan Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) was introduced to Amami Oshima,resulting in a serious threat because the Amami Rabbit evolved in the absence of large active predators. The only native predator of the Amami Rabbit is a pit viper, the habu snake (Trimeresurus flavoviridis). Feral cats and dogs on both islands also represent an additional threat. Habitat destruction by logging has caused a reduction of old forest by 70-90% since 1980. Forest roads constructed for logging encourage dispersal of predators into forests. Construction of resortfacilities (e.g. golf courses on Amami Island) have destroyed habitat. The larger population on Amami Oshima was estimated at 2000-4800 individuals, based on fecal pellet counts in 2002-2003. This represented a decline of ¢.20% since the last count in 1993-1994 (2500-6100 individuals). Area occupied by Amami Rabbits on Amami Oshima declined by 20-40% from 1977 to 1994. Abundance of Amami Rabbits on Tokunoshima is unknown. The Amami Rabbit was declared a natural monument of Japan in 1921 and a special natural monument in 1963. These designations prohibited hunting and capture of Amami Rabbits. In 1999, the Center for Conservation of Amami Wildlife was established, and the Amami Rabbit was listed under the Japanese Endangered Species Act in 2004. Since 2005, a program of the Ministry of the Environmentstarted with the goal of eradicating the introduced Javan Mongoose.

Bibliography. Hayashi (1981), Hoffmann & Smith (2005), Stone (1900), Sugimura (1990), Sugimura & Yamada (2004), Sugimura et al. (2000), Watari et al. (2008), Yamada (2002, 2008), Yamada & Cervantes (2005), Yamada & Sugimura (2004, 2008), Yamada, Sugimura et al. (2000), Yamada, Takaki & Suzuki (2002).

Figures

33. Indian Hare (Lepus nigricollis), 34. Burmese Hare (Lepus peguensis), 36. Scrub Hare (Lepus saxatilis), 37. African Savanna Hare (Lepus victoriae), 38. Yarkand Hare (Lepus yarkandensis), 39. Ethiopian Highland Hare (Lepus starcki), 40. Cape Hare (Lepus capensis), 41. Abyssinian Hare (Lepus habessinicus), 42. Tolai Hare (Lepus tolai), 43. Desert Hare (Lepus tibetanus), 44. Yunnan Hare (Lepus comus), 45. Woolly Hare (Lepus oiostolus), 46. Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus), 47. Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), 48. Black Jackrabbit (Lepus insularis)

Distribution. Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima (Ryukyu Is) in S Japan.