Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778

Dataset
GBIF Backbone Taxonomy: Rank
SPECIES: Published in
Nova Spec. Quad. Glir. Ord. p.30

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Classification

kingdom
Animalia: phylum
Chordata: class
Mammalia: order
Lagomorpha: family
Leporidae: genus
Lepus: species
Lepus europaeus

native range

Africa

native range

Asia-Temperate

native range

China

native range

Europe

eunis habitat

Grassland and tall forb habitats (E level 1)

eunis habitat

Heathland, scrub and tundra habitats (F level 1)

native range

Northern Africa

ecofunctional group

Phytophagous

eunis habitat

Regularly or recently cultivated agricultural, horticultural and domestic habitats (I level 1)

biotope

agriculture

cuddliness

cuddly

nutrient level

eutrophic

lifespan

longlived

mobility

mobile

biome

terrestrial

spine

vertebrate

activity

Activity patterns. European Hares are mostly nocturnal. In winter, activity starts with regularity shortly after sunset and ends shortly before sunrise. In summer, activity is less consistently tied to the dark period so that active European Hares can be regularly observed in full daylight. With GPS telemetry, it was possible to gain new knowledge on daily activity patterns of European Hares during summer. If sunset was early and sunrise late, evening and morning activity peaks occurred during the dark phase. This was the case in late spring and early autumn when nights are longer. When sunset was late and sunrise was early, activity peaked in full daylight.

biology_ecology

Habitat. Temperate open woodland, farmland with pastures, grasslands, moorland, saltmarsh, steppes, and sub-desert from sea level to elevations of ¢. 2300 m. High densities of European Hares are reached on arable land. In Chile, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand, where no other species of Lepus occurs, European Hares also inhabits pampas, sand dunes, marshes, and alpine fellfield (slopes). Many surveys have investigated habitat preferences of European Hares. In all studies, fallow land is preferred consistently, and residential areas are avoided. There is a positive association with abundance and habitat diversity.

biology_ecology

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Distances between areas used during activity and inactivity are 122 - 306 m in agricultural areas and are shorter when field sizes are small than when field sizes are large. Home ranges are 12 - 330 ha, depending on study area. A recent study using GPS-collars showed that European Hares in an agricultural landscape with small field sizes used a confined space during the daily resting phase (on average 200 m? *), and home ranges during the active phase were c. 3 ha. The European Hare lives alone but can be observed in small groups during reproduction season or when densities are high.

breeding

Breeding. Reproduction of European Hares takes place from winter solstice until the end of summer, with a peak in spring (“ March madness ”). During the peak, males congregate around a female in estrus. The female boxes and chases off males. Female European Hares have 1 - 5 litters / year, with an average ofthree litters per year. Females have between 4 - 6 young / year in Argentina and 13 young / year in the Czech Republic, but in most populations, females are remarkably consistent at ¢. 10 young / year. Litter size can vary with respect to season, with smaller litters produced earlier and larger litters later. Superfetation (a female ovulates while pregnant and then carries both embryos and fetuses) is common in captivity and reduces normal gestation of ¢. 42 days to ¢. 38 days. In the wild, superfetation is less common. Nursing takes place once per day, about one hour after sunset, and lasts only a few minutes. Females reach maturity at 7 - 8 months old and males at ¢. 6 months old. Young from the firstlitters of the year may breed in theirfirst year. Where sympatric, European Hares and Mountain Hares (L. timidus) can hybridize and produce fertile offspring.

Name

Synonyms: Leppus europaeus; Lepus capensis europaeus; Lepus cyanotis Blanchard, 1957; Lepus europaeus ghigii de Beaux, 1927; Lepus europaeus mediterraneus Wagner, 1841; Lepus hispanicus; Lepus hybridus; Lepus karpathorum; Lepus meridionalis; Lepus occidentalis; Lepus parnassius; Lepus pyrenaicus; Lepus tesquorum; Lepus transsylvanicus
Homonyms: Lepus europaeus Pallas, 1778
Common names: Brown Hare in English; Brown Hare in English; Brown Hare in English; Brown hare in language.; Brown hare in English; Common Hare in English; Common Hare in English; European Brown Hare in English; European Hare in English; European Hare in English; European Hare in English; European Hare in English; European Hare in English; European brown hare in language.; European hare in language.; European hare in English; European hare in English; European hare in language.; Europski zec in Croatian; Feldhase in German; Feldhase in German; Feldhase in German; Feldhase in English; Fälthare in Swedish; Gráhéri in Icelandic; Haas in Dutch; Halljänes in Estonian; Hare in Danish; Hare in Danish; Hues in Luxembourgish; Iepure in Romanian; Iepurele-de-câmp in Romanian; Lebre-europeia in Portuguese; Lepre europea in Italian; Lepuri i eger in Albanian; Liebre europea in Spanish; Liebre europea in English; Liebru in Maltese; Lièvre d'Europe in French; Liévre d'Europe in English; Mezei nyúl in Hungarian; Pilkasis kiškis in Lithuanian; Poljski zajec in Slovenian; Rusakko in Finnish; Sørhare in Norwegian; Zajíc polní in Czech; brown hare in language.; brown hare, european hare in English; haas in Dutch; liebre Europea in language.

Bibliographic References

Hall, R. (2004) Däggdjur
Hall, R. (2016-05-02 00:00:00) Däggdjur
Smith, Andrew T., Charlotte H. Johnston, Paulo C., 2018: null. Lagomorphs. Pikas, Rabbits, and Hares of the World. 266.
University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health - mammals, https://www.invasive.org/species/mammals.cfm
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds., 1992: null. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 2nd ed., 3rd printing. xviii + 1207.
Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds., 2005: null. Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, 3rd ed., vols. 1 & 2. 2142.
Wilson, Don E., and F. Russell Cole, 2000: null. Common Names of Mammals of the World. xiv + 204.