Systematic Status of Sylvilagus brasiliensis and S. insonus from North America

Abstract

Geographic variation in Sylvilagus brasiliensis and S. insonus from Mexico and Central America was reviewed by univariate and multivariate techniques. Rabbits currently referred to S. brasiliensis from the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica and Panama are referable to a distinct species, S. dicei Harris, 1932. Sylvilagus brasiliensis occurs in the eastern and southern lowland tropics of Mexico south through Panama and is composed of two well-defined subspecies, S. b. truei and S. b. gabbi, with a sharp zone of intergradation in southern Chiapas and Guatemala. Sylvilagus b. consobrinus, S. b. messorius, S. b. tumacus, and S. b. incitatus are all regarded as synonyms of S. h. gabbi. Comparisons of the species S. brasiliensis, S. dicei, and S. insonus indicate that S. brasiliensis and S. dicei are more closely related than either is to S. insonus.