Although the names are frequently interchanged, members of the genus Lepus are commonly called hares, not rabbits. A hare is typically larger than a (cottontail) rabbit, reaching up to 21 inches long from head to tail, and up to a foot tall, and has noticeably longer ears than rabbits. Hares are also distinct from rabbits in that the young are born in open fields, and at birth are fully furred with their eyes wide open. Rabbits, on the other hand, are born in well-constructed nests, hairless and blind. Unlike rabbits that rely on burrows to escape danger, hares rely on their running ability to escape would-be predators, and rarely dig burrows.

Hares are generally brown to grayish brown in color with a white underbelly. They are typically solitary nocturnal animals that are active throughout the year. Hares, like rabbits, eat grasses and other herbaceous matter. They are known, however, to eat voles and younger rabbits/hares given the opportunity.

This particular specimen was excavated from an early Pleistocene (2 MA) site in Citrus County, Florida. These sediments preserve a microcosm of fossil birds, reptiles, and small mammals in a karst fissure fill. Hares no longer live in Florida except for the few individuals that managed to escape from their would-be pet dealers around the Miami airport.

Rabbits, hares, pikas, and their fossil relatives make up a group called Lagomorpha. Lagomorphs are very similar to rodents in that they both have a pair of enlarged ever-growing re-curved incisor teeth well adapted for gnawing. Unlike rodents, however rabbits, hares, and pikas have a second set of small incisors located directly behind the large incisors.

Current research suggests that lagomorphs split from rodents early in the Cenozoic (= The Age of Mammals), some 50 million years ago. Shortly thereafter, rabbits and pikas are recognizably distinct lineages in the fossil record. There are two families with the Lagomorpha: Leporidae (hares and rabbits) and Ochotonids (pikas). Within the Leporidae, there are some 13 genera (31 are extinct) and 81 living species. The lineage of Lepus first appears in the early Pliocene (5 MA) in Europe, making its way over to North America by the late Pliocene.

The bones of this extinct hare skeleton (Lepus sp.) were excavated from an early Pleistocene site (2 MA) in Citrus County, Florida by Steven and Suzan Hutchens in 1994-1995. The skeleton was articulated, mounted, and subsequently donated to the FLMNH by the Hutchenses for display in The Hall of Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life and Land. The method of articulation employed is an innovative system of screws and linchpins that allow the skeleton to be taken apart easily for research purposes.

This skeleton is a composite of bones from many individuals found from the Citrus County site, as well as from the NorthEastern Cottontail found in Florida (Sylvilagus floridanus). This pictured mount is composed of approximately 90% fossil material.

What is so noteworthy about this particular specimen is the preservation of the skull. Because they are so lightly built, complete intact rabbit skulls are rarely preserved in the fossil record. Consequently, this skull is unique in its preservations, and is the only known skull of this extinct species, Lepus sp.