| Desert hare | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Lagomorpha |
| Family: | Leporidae |
| Genus: | Lepus |
| Species: | L. tibetanus |
| Binomial name | |
| Lepus tibetanus Waterhouse, 1841 | |
 | |
| Desert hare range | |
Thedesert hare (Lepus tibetanus) is a species ofhare found inCentral Asia,Northwest China, and the westernIndian subcontinent. Little is known about this species except that it inhabitsgrassland and scrub areas ofdesert andsemi-desert. TheInternational Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern."
The desert hare is a lightly-built species with a small head. It grows to a head-and-body length of between 400 and 480 mm (16 and 19 in) with a tail of 87 to 109 mm (3.4 to 4.3 in). The upper parts are sandy-yellow to drab brown glossed with black, the hip and buttocks area is greyish and the underparts yellowish-white. The eye is surrounded by an area of pale skin and the ears are broad, lined with tufted hair inside and tipped with black. The forefeet are white as are the outer surfaces of the rear legs. The upper side of the tail has a brownish-black stripe. During the winter, the coat becomes thicker and a sandy-grey colour.[2][3][4]
The desert hare is native to Central Asia, its range extending from Afghanistan and northern Pakistan to Mongolia,Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,Gansu andInner Mongolia in northern China. It is found at altitudes of up to 3,500 or 4,000 m (11,500 or 13,100 ft) in arid and semi-arid areas, scrubby desert, grassland and steppe.[1]
The desert hare is herbivorous; its diet includes roots, foliage, stems, berries and seeds. It also will sometimes feed on cacti for moisture. It mainly feeds around dusk but sometimes emerges during the day. Like other hares, it does not dig itself a burrow, but lies concealed in a shallow depression. Females have up to three litters per year, typically of three to ten young each time.[2]
In the southwesternPamir Mountains and the border areas between the Kashgar Basin and the Pamir, the desert hare of thepamirensis subspecies interbreeds withYarkand hare due to overlapping or adjacent ranges. The hybrid zone is located between the two species along the border between the Pamir and the Kashgar Basin, resulting in a certain degree of genetic introgression and indistinguishable morphological traits in the external morphology of these hares. According to studies from 2024, with the southwestern Kashgar Basin serving as a refuge, the riverine hare may have migrated and spread multiple times throughout its evolutionary history, causing hybridization between hare species, leading to gene introgression and resulting in mixed relationships among hares in the southwestern Pamir and its surroundings.[4]
The desert hare has a wide range but the population size and trend is not known. TheInternational Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern" on the grounds that no particular threats are recognised, and if the population is shrinking, it is likely to be doing so at too slow a rate to qualify for a more threatened category.[1]
