The volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi) (Spanish: conejo de los volcanes), also known as the teporingo or zacatuche, is a species of small rabbit that lives in pine and alder forests on volcanic slopes in Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Romerolagus and is considered to be the most primitive species among the rabbits and hares. It has small, rounded ears, short legs, a large forehead, and short, thick fur. It is one of the world's smallest rabbits, lives in groups consisting of between two and five members, and makes burrows (underground nests) and runways (worn-down, frequently traveled surface paths) among bunchgrasses. Up to three young are produced per litter, born in nests formed from shallow depressions in the ground lined with fur and plant matter. Uniquely among the rabbits, the volcano rabbit emits high-pitched sounds to warn other rabbits of danger, a habit common in the related pikas. It is awake and most active in the early morning and evening. Populations have been estimated as approximately 7,000 adult individuals over their entire range. Human developments surrounding the volcano rabbit's habitat—including overgrazing, hunting, and burning of the species' preferred scrublands—have caused significant declines in population, even in protected parks. Both the IUCN and the Mexican government consider the volcano rabbit an endangered species. It is listed on Appendix I of the CITES treaty, which is intended to restrict trade of the animal.
Taxonomy and etymology Romerolagus diazi was first described by the head of the Mexican Geographical and Exploring Commission, Fernando Ferrari-Pérez, in 1893 as a member of the hares (genus Lepus), using the scientific name Lepus diazi and common name conejo del Volcán (volcano rabbit). The species name diazi honors the Mexican cartographer Agustín Díaz, who published the work where the species was first described. The type specimen was collected on the northeastern slopes of Ixtaccíhuatl, a volcano near San Martín Texmelucan, in the Mexican state of Puebla. It was separately described as the Popocatepetl rabbit, Romerolagus nelsoni, in 1896 by American zoologist Clinton Hart Merriam in an account that did not refer to the earlier work of Ferrari-Pérez. Merriam noted a type specimen that was collected on Popocatépetl at an altitude of 3,350 metres (10,990 feet) by Edward William Nelson, an American naturalist for whom Merriam named the species. Merriam noted several characteristics that differed significantly from any member of the hares, such as its anatomy and means of locomotion (running on all four legs rather than hopping), and gave it the genus name Romerolagus in honor of Matías Romero, Mexican ambassador in the United States and a supporter of the United States Biological Survey in Mexico. American zoologist Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. noted the discrepancy between the two descriptions and, after consulting with Nelson and Ferrari-Pérez in 1911, clarified the nomenclature of the species by using the name Romerolagus diazi, a new combination, and making Romerolagus nelsoni and Lepus diazi synonyms of the new name. From this point up until the 1950s, the authority of the species was attributed to Díaz alone; biologist Paulino Rojas Mendoza argued in 1952 that the correct name under International Code of Zoological Nomenclature rules would credit Ferrari-Pérez as well. Since then, the scientific name and authority of the volcano rabbit has been Romerolagus diazi (Ferrari-Pérez in A. Díaz, 1893). The volcano rabbit is named for its preferred habitat: the slopes of volcanoes. One Nahuatl name, zacatochtle, refers to the rabbit's relationship with subalpine tussock grass in the genus Festuca (referred to as zacate in Spanish, zacatl in Nahuatl). The name comes from the combination of zacatl and tochtle ('rabbit'), and has been modified to the currently-used epithet zacatuche ('grass rabbit'). Another common name, teporingo, likely derives from Classical Nahuatl, combining tepētl ('mountain'), olīn ('movement') and the suffix -co referring to location. Several accounts of the species find no obvious etymology for this name, and tentatively ascribe it to a corruption of another name in Nahuatl.
Phylogeny No subspecies of the volcano rabbit are recognized, and it is the only species within its genus. No fossils of the volcano rabbit are known, but analysis of its morphology and genetic records indicate it is the most morphologically primitive living leporid. The species has high genetic diversity and is separated into five haplogroups (lines of descent based on specific alleles) across its distribution; these groups appear to have some level of gene flow between them due to the short distance between populations. It was in 1929 placed in the subfamily Paleolaginae by Lee R. Dice, alongside Pentalagus, Pronolagus, and the extinct †Alilepus and †Palaeolagus. The following cladogram is based on mitochondrial genome analysis of the volcano rabbit, the European rabbit, the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), and the black-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus californicus), as well as a broader phylogenetic tree produced by biologist Leandro Iraçabal Nunes and colleagues:
Characteristics
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