compendium-of-beasts:

1. The North American Porcupine (Hystrix hudsonius). 2. The Northern Hare (Lepus americanus). (1842-1844)

via NYPL

wallacegardens:

Rene Martin, Atlas de poche des mammiferes de France (1910). 

Sophia Tambunting
Rabbit Skull - Measured Bone
Crayon sauce on Color-aid paper
2012 

dailyfossil:

Palaeolagus

When: Late Eocene to Mid Oligocene (~38 to 27 million years ago)

Where: North America

What: Palaeolagus is a fossil lagomorph. Lagomorpha is an order of mammals, that contains rabbits, hares, and pikas. Within the bunny-order rabbits and hares are more closely related to either other than either is to the pikas. If you are not familiar with pikas go check out some pictures! They are really cute little guys that resemble guinea pigs more than they do rabbits, but they are most assuredly lagomorphs. Palaeolagus falls outside all living lagomorphs in their evolutionary lineage. It can be thought of as representative of the common ancestor of all living lagomorphs.  

Palaeolagus lived in North America in the late Eocene, after the dense forests had left and the grasslands of the plains started to expand. This 10 inch (~25 cm) long herbivore spread throughout the continent during the Oligocene as the grasslands grew. Palaeolagus could not hop, its hind legs show none of the features that make a hopping locomotion style possible in living rabbits.This ancient bunny is known from a large amount of fossil specimens, some of which are almost complete skeletons, but most are fragmentary pieces of bone or teeth. Most of these Palaeolagus specimens likely met their end as the lunch of one of the many predators roaming the grass lands of prehistoric North America. 

(via rhamphotheca)

compendium-of-beasts:

[Chimpanzee and rabbit]. (1885)

via NYPL

ofpaperandponies:

capntrips:

biomedicalephemera:

Rodentia. Capybaras are the largest extant rodents, and live throughout the forested and swampy parts of South America. They love water, and the name “capybara” comes from the Paraguayan Guarani word Kapiÿva, meaning “Master of the Grasses”. 

The Handy Natural History. Ernest Protheroe, 1910.

 Rabbits/hares are no longer considered to be rodents, they are now considered lagomorphs.

Very good point. I meant to bring that up when I saw the plate only labeled as “Rodentia”, but got caught up in the capybara being the grass-master. Lagomorphs were considered to be a superfamily of the Rodentia order since ~1855 (defined by Brandt), but since the early 20th century, have been considered an order of their own.

Fun fact: one of the primary differentiations between rodents and lagomorphs is that rodents have a baculum (penis bone), while lagomorphs do not.

(via biomedicalephemera)

rhamphotheca:

5 Facts about Rabbits from Smithsonian:  Giant Rabbits

In celebration of the annual spring appearance of the Easter bunny on Sunday, April 8, Smithsonian Science offers these facts from Rabbits: The Animal Answer Guide, a new book by John Seidensticker, conservation scientist at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, and Susan Lumpkin, freelance writer…

2. Scientists studying the bones of an extinct giant rabbit found on the Mediterranean island of Minorca estimate this prehistoric animal weighed as much as 31 pounds! The largest rabbits alive today– domestic breeds such as the Flemish giant–weigh 22 pounds at most.

- Image: A reconstruction of a giant Minorcan rabbit is shown next to a modern European rabbit. (Image by Meike Köhler)

(via: Smithsonian)

sophiatambunting:

Measured bone drawing - Rabbit skull (upper)
Graphite
2012 

Unfinished

Sketches of animal skulls from Rhode Island School of Design’s Edna Lawrence Nature Lab

Lizard skull, rabbit skull, & black bear jaw

Thanks for the submission :)