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Since speed and agility are a rabbit's main defenses against predators, rabbits have large hind leg bones and well-developed musculature. Though plantigrade at rest, rabbits are on their toes while running, assuming a more digitigrade posture. [51] Rabbits use their strong claws for digging and (along with their teeth) for defense. [52]
The leg of an unguligrade mammal also includes the phalanges, the finger and toe bones. Among extinct animals, most early mammals such as pantodonts were plantigrade. A plantigrade foot is the primitive condition for mammals; digitigrade and unguligrade locomotion evolved later.
In terrestrial vertebrates, digitigrade (/ ˈ d ɪ dʒ ɪ t ɪ ˌ ɡ r eɪ d /) [1] locomotion is walking or running on the toes (from the Latin digitus, 'finger', and gradior, 'walk').A digitigrade animal is one that stands or walks with its toes (phalanges) on the ground, and the rest of its foot lifted.
The following is a list of selected animals in order of increasing number of legs, from 0 legs to 653 pairs of legs, the maximum recorded in the animal kingdom. [1] Each entry provides the relevant taxa up to the rank of phylum. Each entry also provides the common name of the animal.
Rabbits and hares move by jumping, pushing off with their strong hind legs and using their forelimbs to soften the impact on landing. Pikas lack certain skeletal modifications present in leporids, such as a highly arched skull, an upright posture of the head, strong hind limbs and pelvic girdle, and long limbs. [19]
Like other jackrabbits, the black-tailed jackrabbit has distinctive long ears, and the long powerful rear legs characteristic of hares.Reaching a length about 2 ft (61 cm), and a weight from 3 to 6 lb (1.4 to 2.7 kg), the black-tailed jackrabbit is the third-largest North American jackrabbit, after the antelope jackrabbit and the white-tailed jackrabbit.
Rabbits are the seventh most popular pet in the U.S. Whether you own a bunny or want to, you may wonder how long it'll live. Here's a timeline.
While largely similar to eastern cottontails (Sylvilagus floridanus) in appearance, the swamp rabbit differs in the sizes of its ears and skull; the former are much smaller, and the latter is larger. Additionally, the back portions of the swamp rabbit's hind legs are orange, in contrast to the tan or white feet of the eastern cottontail. [5]