Lepus victoriae, Thomas, 1893
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6625539 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6625446 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03822308-B75F-FFE1-FFC9-FBFDF75EF567 |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Lepus victoriae |
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African Savanna Hare
French: Liévre des savanes / German: Savannenhase / Spanish: Liebre de sabana
Taxonomy. Lepus victoriae Thomas, 1893 View in CoL ,
“Lande der Ridj,” Bahr-el-Ghazal, Sudan.
It was formerly included with L. saxatilis and has various synonyms that are still under debate ( saxatilis , crawshayi, whytei, and macrotis). Some taxonomic confusion has arisen because the skull of the type specimen of victoriae is missing and because the type of whytei seems to be aberrant and not typical of others in nearby localities. The form whytei seems to be close to but distinguishable from L. fagani , and the wide geographical separation between these two forms merits recognition of whytei as a valid species. Also crawshayi might be a valid species. On the other hand,it is under discussion whether whytei and crawshayi might be subspecies of L. nigricollis . Moreover, L. victoriae may be considered as the northern allospecies of the southern L. saxatilis . This species is widely sympatric with L. capensis and alloparatric to parapatric with L. saxatilis and L. habessinicus . As taxonomists are still trying to clarify the species differentiation in Lepus , the subspecific taxonomy is not elaborated yet. The original descriptions of the subspecies are often not very helpful as they are mostly based on few exterior characteristics and small numbers of individuals. It has been shown that the variability is clinal in more careful investigations. Hence, the distinction in subspecies might be arbitrary and unreasonable. Four subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
L.v.victoriaeThomas,1893—Tanzania.
L.v.angolensisThomas,1904—Angola.
L.v.senegalensisRochebrune,1883—Senegal,TheGambia.
L. v. whyte: Thomas, 1894 — Malawi.
The African Savanna Hare is present from the Atlantic coast of NW Africa (Western Sahara S to Guinea), E across the Sahel to Sudan and the extreme W Ethiopia, S through E Africa (E DR Congo, Uganda, W Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania) to most of Angola, Zambia, Malawi, NE Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, E South Africa, Swaziland, and Lesotho; a small isolated population exists near Beni Abbas in the Sahara Desert in W Algeria. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 420-580 mm,tail 68-121 mm, ear 90-120 mm, hindfoot 103-127 mm; weight 1:4.3-2 kg. The African Savanna Hare is medium-sized and has soft butslightly coarse fur. Dorsal pelage, crown of head, and nasal region are brown, grizzled with black. Flanks are buff. Lips, cheeks, and areas around eyes are grayish. Ventral fur is white or buff. Chin is white, and collar is rufous or buffy. Lateral profile of head is shallowly and smoothly convex. Throat is buffy brown. Ears are of medium length, brownish and grizzled. Ear tips are black on outer and inner surfaces. Nuchal patch is characteristically orange to brownish orange. Forelimbs are long and buffy brown; hindlimbs are cinnamon-brown. Hindfeet are cinnamon-brown above and brown below. Tail is medium-sized and black or dark brown above and white laterally and below. Fur color varies geographically, but this might be due to the unclear species status. Montane forms of the African Savanna Hare are more rufous and darker than lowland forms.
Habitat. Scrub, bush, and grassland habitats, preferring scrubby and montane habitats. The African Savanna Hare occurs in mountain regions up to ¢.3600 m on Mount Kenya and is also recorded in semiarid grasslands. It coexists with the Cape Hare ( L. capensis ) over much of its distribution; they are separated largely by habitat. African Savanna Hares have been recorded in grassland associations of Themeda triandra and Imperata cylindrical (both Poaceae ) in Ruanda-Urundi and Tarchonanthus camphoratus ( Asteraceae ) scrub in East Africa.
Food and Feeding. The African Savanna Hare is herbivorous. Based on fecal analysis, diet in Kenya consisted of grasses (35%) such as Digitaria sp. (18%), Hyparrhenia sp. (11%), and Cynodon dactylon (4%) and dicotyledons (1%). Diets vary by habitat.
Breeding. In Uganda, 100% of female African Savanna Hares were pregnant in all months except May and November when only 80% were pregnant. Mean litter size was 1-6 young, and numbers of litters per year were 6-8, resulting in a mean of 11-2 young/female/year.
Activity patterns. The African Savanna Hare is strictly nocturnal.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Home ranges of African Savanna Hares are 5-10 ha. They live mostly alone but are sometimes seen in groups of 2-3 individuals while feeding.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as L. microtis ). The African Savanna Hare is widespread, but no data are available on its population status. Status of a small isolated population in western Algeria is uncertain and needs assessment. Threats to the African Savanna Hare are unknown, but its uncertain taxonomy makesit difficult to thoroughly understand its conservation status.
Bibliography. Allen, G.M. (1939), Angermann (2016), Azzaroli-Puccetti (1987b), Curry-Lindahl (1961), Flux (1981a, 1981b), Flux & Angermann (1990), Flux & Flux (1983), Happold (2013c), Hoffmann & Smith (2005), Lissovsky (2016), Petter (1959), Smith & Johnston (2008c), Stewart (1971a).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
