PYGMY RABBIT The tiniest rabbit in the world, the Columbia Basin pygmy (a distinct population segment within the species Brachylagus idahoensis ) found in central Washington State measures a mere 10 inches (25 centimeters)—about the length of a pencil—and weighs less than a pound... JIM WITHAM
VOLCANO RABBIT The world's second-smallest rabbit (after the pygmy), Mexico's volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi) measures between 11 and 13 inches (28 and 33 centimeters) long. It lives on the slopes of volcanoes surrounding Mexico City at elevations ranging from 9,200 to 14,000 feet (2,800 to 4,250 meters), making its meals out of a thick wiry grass called "zacaton"... ANDREW SMITH
NEW ENGLAND COTTONTAIL Studies suggest that small populations of the New England cottontail (Sylvilagus transitionalis) still exist in Maine, New Hampshire, New York State, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and in Cape Cod, Mass... LINDA CULLIVAN
THE LOWER KEYS MARSH RABBIT This Sylvilagus palustris hefneri was named after the king of (Playboy) bunnies himself—Hugh Hefner, who funded a 1984 study establishing the animal as a unique subspecies within the species S... CRAIG FAULHABER
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HISPID HARE The hispid hare's (Caprolagus hispidus) habitat stretches across Himalayan foothill regions in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. In the mid-1960s, scientists were concerned the hare had vanished, but then one was captured in 1971 in India's Barnadi Wildlife Sanctuary, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources... DIANA BELL
AMAMI RABBIT Measuring about as long as a medium-size house cat (18 inches, or 45 centimeters), the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi) lives in underground burrows in forest valleys on two islands off southern Japan, Amami-Oshima and Tokuno-Shima... HIROMITSU KATSU
EUROPEAN RABBIT Two viral diseases, myxomatosis and rabbit hemorrhagic disease, combined with habitat loss and overhunting has led to the rapid demise of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) , which lives in Spain and Portugal; studies suggest population is now about 5 percent of what it was 50 years ago... JOSÉ ARDAIZ
