Oryctolagus

Oryctolagus Temporal range: 6.5–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Late Miocene–Recent
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Lagomorpha
Family:	Leporidae
Genus:	Oryctolagus Lilljeborg, 1873
Type species
Lepus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Species
1 living, several extinct (see text)

Oryctolagus (/ˌɔːrɪkˈtɑːləɡəs/) is a genus of lagomorph that today contains the European rabbit and its descendant, the domestic rabbit, as well as several fossil species.

The generic name derives from Ancient Greek: ὀρυκτός (oryktos, “dug up”) and λαγώς (lagōs, “hare”).^[1]

Evolution

Oryctolagus first appeared at the end of the Miocene, around 6.5 MYA.^[2] Fossil remains from the middle Pliocene led to the recognition of two species, Oryctolagus lacosti in southern France and northwestern Italy and Oryctolagus laynensis in the Iberian Peninsula. This latter form is thought to be the origin of the extant species.^[3]

Species

• Oryctolagus cuniculus - European rabbit
  • Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus - Domestic rabbit

• †Oryctolagus lacosti
• †Oryctolagus laynensis

References

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