Taxonomic status of the European hare in Ontario

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CONTRIBUTIONS
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TAXONOMIC STATUS OF THE EUROPEAN
HARE IN ONTARIO

By
Randolph L. Peterson and J. K. Reynolds

TORONTO
JANUARY 31, 1954

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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

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PETERSON & REYNOLDS: THE EUROPEAN HARE 5

middle of the back. The under fur of the rump is greyish, while that
of the remaining light area is more buffy. The colour POF ‘the under parts,
feet, head, ears, Sail and central region of the back are essentially the
same as most Ontario specimens except that the rump is noticeably
lighter. We find that one specimen each from Daghestan, Caucasus,
near Petrovsk, Russia; Washington, Connecticut; and North Adarce
Massachusetts (all from M.C.Z.) are indistinguishable from specimens
of L. e. hybridus from Ontario.

CRANIAL MEASUREMENTS

The cranial measurements of available specimens of L. e. europaeus
and L. e. hybridus were compared with similar measurements pre-
sented by Miller (1912) and with those of Ontario specimens. These
data, summarized in Table I, suggest that the skulls of europaeus
differ from those of hybridus in having a narrower width across the
paroccipital processes. In the former this width is usually about equal
to the length of the diastema, while in the latter the greatest width
of the paroccipital processes is usually greater than the length of the
diastema. These comparisons are presented graphically in Fig. 1
(B and C), using the method of Hubbs and Hubbs (1953). A sum-
mary of the cranial measurements of the skulls of 48 specimens of
L. e. hybridus from Ontario is given in Table II(A).

Gross MEASUREMENTS

Miller (1912) has drawn attention to the greater size of the hind
foot of L. e. hybridus compared with that of L. e. europaeus. In com-
paring the gross measurements of Ontario specimens with those of
L. e. europaeus we found that this difference is statistically significant
(Fig. 1(A) ). The measurements of Ontario specimens are summarized
in Table II(B).

It has been stated (Anon. 1947) and is widely held among hunters
in Ontario that the European hares here sometimes attain a weight
of twenty pounds or more. In the course of handling 973 specimens,
however, Reynolds (1952) found only four which exceeded 5000 gm.
(about eleven pounds ). The largest weighed 5600 gm. (about twelve

and one-half pounds ).

SPECIMENS E;XAMINED

Unless otherwise indicated, specimens are in the Royal Ontario
Museum of Zoology and ee Lepus e. europaeus—a total
of 14, as follows: France: Bretigny, 1; ee Cadillac, Gironde, 1:
Gironde, 1; 2 mi. NE Is-Sor-Tile, Cote-d’Or, 1 (U.S.N.M.); Poiseul-la-
Grange, Cote- dOr, 1 (A.M.N.H.). Germany: near Hamburg, 6
(A.M.N.H.); Magdeburg, 1 (U.S.N.M.). Switzerland: Werdenberg,
St. Gallen, 1 (U.S.N.M.); Wittenbach, St. Gallen, 1 (U.S.N.M.). Lepus
e. hybridus—a total of 82, as follows: Russia: near Leningrad, |

6 R.O.M.Z. AND P. CONTRIBUTIONS

TABLE II. Measurements of L. e. hybridus from southern Ontario.

Dimension Number of | Mean Standard Standard
Specimens (mm.) Deviation — Error

(A) Cranial Measurements

Occipito-incisoral length 47 100.6 2.0 0). 29
Occipito-nasal length 47 100.2 2.2 0.33
Condylobasal length 47 89.4 2.0 0.29
Zygomatic breadth 39 47.3 1.4 0.23
Interorbital constriction 48 21.6 1.4 0.20
Postorbital constriction 48 14.1 fe 0.16
Breadth of braincase 47 33.4 Pe NY 0.16
Length of nasals 48 45.4 20 0.29
Width of nasals 48 23.3 1.5 0.21
Diastema 48 29.3 Lit 0.16
Greatest width across
paraoccipital processes 46 30.5 0.9 0.13
Least length of palatine bridge 48 6.9 0.6 0.09
Width of palatine bridge
(Alveolar) 48 14.2 0.8 0.12
Length of maxillary toothrow
(Alveolar) 47 18.0 0.6 0.09
(B) Gross Measurements
Total length—R.O.M.Z.P. 23 652 22.4 4.8
Reynolds (1952) 260 681 24.2 ees
Tail—R.O.M.Z.P. 19 100 5.4 12
Reynolds (1952) 260 92 9.8 0.6
Hind Foot—R.O.M.Z.P. 22 1538 4.1 0.9
Reynolds (1952) 260 Lot 4.6 0.3
Ear from Crown—Reynolds 260 123 3.6 0.2
Ear from Notch—R.O.M.Z.P. 4 98 2.2 ist
Weight (gm.)—Reynolds (1952) 693 4180 380 15

(M.C.Z.); Daghestan, Petrovsk, Caucasus, 1 (M.C.Z.). Connecticut:
Washington, 1 (M.C.Z.). Massachusetts: near North Adams, 1
(M.C.Z.). Ontario: Brant Co.—Dumfries South Twp., 1; Scotland, 2;
Halton Co.—2% mi. N. Trafalgar, 1; Middlesex Co.—Duncrief, 4;
Iiderton, 1; Komoka, 1; Lobo Twp., 14; McGillivray Twp., 8; Oxford
Co.—Blenheim Twp., 1; Kintore, 20; Oxford East Twp., 1; Woodstock,
2; Parry Sound District—Burk’s Falls, 1; Perth Co.—Mornington Twp.,
5; Victoria Co.—Lindsay, 1; Waterloo Co.—Centreville, 1; Galt, 1,
Kitchener, 3; Wilmot Twp., 1; Wellington Co.—Puslinch, 1; York Co.—
King, 3; Nobleton, 1; Pottageville, 1; Toronto, 1; Vaughan Twp., 1;
Woodbridge, 1.

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PETERSON & REYNOLDS: THE EUROPEAN HARE 7
SUMMARY

The European hare, introduced in 1912 and now established in
southern Ontario, appears to belong to the race Lepus europaeus
hybridus Desmarest.

LITERATURE CITED
ANDERSON, R. M.
1923. Further notes on the European hare in Ontario. Can. Field-Nat.,
vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 75-76.
1947. Catalogue of Canadian Recent mammals. Natl. Mus. Can., Bull. no.
102 (Biol. Ser. no. 31), pp. 1-238.
ANONYMOUS
1947. “Letters to the Editor’. Hunting and Fishing in Canada, vol. 13,
no. 10, p. 44.
Burt, W. H.
1946. The mammals of Michigan. Univ. Mich. Press, Ann Arbor, pp. 1-288.
Cross, E. C. Anp J. R. Dymonp
1929. The mammals of Ontario. Roy. Ont. Mus. Zool. Handbook no. 1,
pp. 1-55.
Downing, S. C.
1948. A provisional check-list of the mammals of Ontario. Roy. Ont. Mus.
Zool. Misc. Pub. no. 2, pp. 1-11.
DyMonp, J. R.
1922. The European hare in Ontario. Can. Field-Nat., vol. 36, no. 5,
pp. 142-148.
ELLERMAN, J. R. AND T. C. S. Morrison-SCoTT
1951. Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian mammals, 1758 to 1946. Brit.
Mus. (Nat. Hist.), pp. 1-810.
Goopwin, G. G.
1935. The mammals of Connecticut. Conn. State Geol. and Nat. Hist.
Survey, Bull. no. 53, pp. 1-221.
HALL. E.R.
1951. A synopsis of the North American Lagomorpha. Univ. Kans. Pub.
Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 5, no. 10, pp. 119-202.
Husss, C. L. anp C. Husss
1953. An improved graphical analysis and comparison of series of samples.
Syst. Zool., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 49-56, 92.
MILLER, G. S., JR.
1912. Catalogue of the mammals of western Europe. Brit. Mus. (Nat.
Hist.) , pp. 1-1091.
1924. List of North American Recent mammals, 1923. U.S. Nat. Mus.,
Bull. no. 128, pp. 1-673.
REYNOLDS, J. K.
1952. The biology of the European hare (Lepus europaeus Pallas) in
southwestern Ontario. Unpub. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Western Ontario,
265 pp. |
SILVER, J.
1924. The European hare (Lepus europaeus) in North America. Journ. Agri.
Res., vol. 28, no. 11, pp. 1133-1137.

January 31, 1954

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