Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from University of Toronto http://www.archive.org/details/taxonomicstatuso00pete TT CONTRIBUTIONS OF THE ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY nn No. 38 . “No QU to, mM Sey a S$: a: “Ony r M Onna’ TAR P, lO R10 | : “AND 4 TAXONOMIC STATUS OF THE EUROPEAN HARE IN ONTARIO By Randolph L. Peterson and J. K. Reynolds TORONTO JANUARY 31, 1954 , ay y are me hiss - UP sath OF! SORA AOU Ss A A am ( » ‘ ‘ { ROYAL ONTARIO MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY CONTRIBUTION NO. 38 TAXONOMIC STATUS OF THE EUROPEAN HARE IN ONTARIO by RANDOLPH L, PETERSON AND J. K. REYNOLDS*® THE PRESENT POPULATION of European hares in southern Ontario apparently resulted from an introduction of nine animals near Brant- ford, Ontario, in 1912. These were secured from a German zoological exporter and the exact source of this introduced stock is not known. In the first published account of this introduction Dymond (1922) concluded that the species was Lepus europaeus and he inferred that it probably represented the race L. e. europaeus Pallas. A year later Anderson (1923) added further notes concerning the status of this hare in Ontario, but carefully avoided using a subspecific name, pointing out the difficulties in making a definite identification with the limited amount of material available. The following year Miller (1924) listed L. e. europaeus as the form resident in Ontario and cited only Anderson (1923), not Dymond (1922). In the same year Silver (1924) reviewed the introductions into the United States, indicating that most of the original stock released there came from Hungary. It was not until eleven years later that Goodwin (1935) checked the identity of the New England introductions and showed that on the basis of the source of the stock, its coloration and large hind feet, the animal then occurring there was L. e. hybridus Desma- rest. Later Anderson (1947) followed Miller (1924) and Cross and Dymond (1929) in ascribing the name L. e. europaeus to the Ontario populations, but he cited only himself (1923) for the previous history of the form in Ontario. Downing (1948) and others have used the same name. In his recent synopsis of the North American Lagomorpha, Hall (1951) lists both europaeus and hybridus. Citing Goodwin (1935), he restricts hybridus to the United States from New York eastward; following Anderson (1947), he refers the populations of Ontario and Michigan to europaeus. He cites Burt (1946) in defining the range of this hare in Michigan, although Burt did not employ a trinomial in his discussions of this species in Michigan. Miller (1924) provides a diagnosis of the races in question, indi- cating that ewropaeus occurs in Denmark, through most of Germany and central France, and into Switzerland, while hybridus ranges from “Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, Maple, Ontario. 1 2 R.O.M.Z. AND P. CONTRIBUTIONS eastern Germany eastward into central Russia. Ellerman and Morrison- Scott (1951) follow Miller with virtually the same definition of ranges for these two subspecies. Reynolds (1952) found that specimens examined by him did not conform to Miller’s (1912) diagnosis of L. e. europaeus but he was unable to examine the necessary comparative material in order to settle this point. One skin and two skulls of L. e. europaeus from France in the Royal Ontario Museum of Zoology and Palaeontology proved to be so noticeably distinct from the Ontario examples of European hares that attempts were made to locate more European material in order to clarify the identity of the Ontario specimens. We wish to acknowledge the cooperation of the following persons and institutions (the latter followed by abbreviations to be used in the text) in placing specimens at our disposal: Dr. G. H. H. Tate, American Museum of Natural History (A.M.N.H.); Dr. C. P. Lyman, Museum of Comparative Zoology (M.C.Z.); and Drs. D. S. Johnson and H. W. Setzer, United States National Museum (U.S.N.M.). PELAGE Ontario specimens conform with Millers (1924) diagnosis of hybridus. Compared with L. e. europacus from France and Germany (winter pelage ), they have more extensive white markings on the side of the head and the whitish area below the eye is usually continuous with that of the throat. The rump is more contrastingly grey in colour, with its median area only slightly darker, whereas in europaeus the dark colour of the back extends to near the base of the tail. Although there is considerable variation in general coloration of the body in both races, hybridus averages lighter. One specimen, from Halton County, Ontario, taken on January 28, 1932, is of particular interest. Although it has maintained faint sug- gestions of the normal colour pattern, the entire back, feet, and ears are pale greyish. The back has a diluted admixture of white and buff, the feet, legs and sides are slightly more buffy, and the ears are more greyish with dark grey tips. The upper side of the tail and crown of the head are also darker grey. The lower sides and underparts are almost entirely white, although the throat has a few scattered buffy hairs. At present we are not familiar with the grey winter pelage which hybridus is said to assume “habitually”. The above specimen is the only one of its type we have seen and we are unable to say whether it represents the grey pelage referred to by Miller (1924) or a colour mutation. A specimen from near Leningrad, Russia (M.C.Z. No. 25351), taken on December 6, 1886, has light greyish colour extending well up on its sides, behind the ears, and down on to the upper portion of the front and hind limbs. This light area joins the broad greyish rump, restricting the dark back colour to a relatively small area along the ndenberunind ‘ajdures yora ul suautoeds jo siaquinu ay} 2} eOIpUT Sasay}Uered UT SJOqUINU ‘S1OJIUIT]]MU UT 91e S}UIWAINSPIUT []V (2+) (St) (SF) (9F) (8h) (8h) (8h) (2h) «6((8h) «6((8h) «6(68) )«=—(e) Sb) 2) heat ett. Go G06 - 8:8e- S'cs FS Pe Tee Ie ele FP 68: S OOF 9 Ol Olle} UC) ng ied ok SUR ATE Sonat: lies @ 0) aiid @ OP Miele (9 cae 6 ag 2 Rg a a 0 a Ce mere tO Gf. 8 °6e 1 80S LF) Bk S FEO 1S. 68h -'°S6 SZOL I. Sot s}jasnyorsse] metre tee phe (py kth hte ee a mae er og je, Sar COS §O-(e 0 LF She 6 ELON. 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