Corsican hare
The Corsican hare (Lepus corsicanus), also known as the Apennine hare or Italian hare, is a species of hare found in southern and central Italy and Corsica.
Taxonomy
It was first described as a species in 1898 by British zoologist William Edward de Winton using specimens from Corsica. It was later regarded as a subspecies of the European hare (L. europaeus) or both were treated as subspecies of the Cape Hare (L. capensis). It is now often treated as a full species as it does not appear to hybridize with the European hare where their ranges overlap and studies of mitochondrial DNA suggest that it belongs to a distinct lineage which differentiated in isolated refuges during the last glacial period.
Description
It is similar to the European hare in appearance, being largely brown with a cream-coloured belly. It differs in having grey rather than white bases to the hairs of the underfur. It is smaller on average than the European Hare with a head and body length of 44.1—61.2 cm, a tail length of 6.6—11.2 cm and a weight of 1.8—3.8 kg. The ears and hind legs are relatively longer, 9—12.6 cm and 11.4—13.5 cm respectively.
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