QUESTION ASKED: Are Rabbits Rodents?
Quick answer:
Rabbits are not rodents (like rats
or mice) - they are lagomorphs.
Explanation:
What is a rodent?
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| Photo © Martin Harvey / Getty Images |
According to Merriam Webster, a
rodent is any relatively small gnawing mammals (as a mouse, squirrel, or
beaver) that have in both jaws a single pair of incisors with a chisel-shaped
edge. Examples of these cute guys include
rats, mice, hamsters, squirrels, and porcupines.
Despite their great species
diversity, all rodents share common features. Rodents have a single pair of
incisors in each jaw, and the incisors grow continually throughout life. The
incisors have thick enamel layers on the front but not on the back; this causes
them to retain their chisel shape as they are worn down. Behind the incisors is
a large gap in the tooth rows, or diastema; there are no canines, and typically
only a few molars at the rear of the jaws. Rodents gnaw with their incisors by
pushing the lower jaw forward, and chew with the molars by pulling the lower
jaw backwards. In conjunction with these chewing patterns, rodents have large and
complex jaw musculature, with modifications to the skull and jaws to
accommodate it. Like some other mammal taxa, but unlike rabbits and other lagomorphs,
male rodents have a baculum (penis bone). Most rodents are herbivorous, but
some are omnivorous, and others prey on insects. Rodents show a wide range of
lifestyles, ranging from burrowing forms such as gophers and mole rats to
tree-dwelling squirrels and Prairie dogs gliding "flying" squirrels,
from aquatic capybaras and muskrats to desert specialists such as kangaroo rats
and jerboas, and from solitary organisms such as porcupines to highly social
organisms living in extensive colonies, such as prairie dogs (left) and naked
mole rats.
Rodents will eat both meat and
plant matter to survive.
What is a Rabbit?
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| European rabbit - Oryctolagus cuniculus. Photo © Fotosearch / Getty Images. |
Rabbits are gregarious burrowing
animals with long ears, long hind legs, and a short white bushy tail.
Rabbit is in the order
Lagomorpha. These animals have two pairs of incisors on their top jaw and one
set on their bottom.
Lagomorphs will only eat plant
matter.
Examples of cuddly lagomorphs
include rabbits, hares, and pikas.
Although there are several genera
and species within the Leporidae family, the animal we typically keep as a pet
(and also serve up in casseroles or use for its fur) is the European rabbit,
Oryctolagus cuniculus. Cuniculus (Latin for a rabbit), via the Old French word conin,
gave us the English word coney. According to the Oxford English Dictionary,
rabbit originally referred only to a young rabbit: the adults were called
coneys. The word coney gradually declined in general use (it’s now used in
British English to refer to rabbit fur), and rabbit became the standard term
for the adult animal. Nowadays, the usual term for a young rabbit is a kitten.
The difference:
Rabbits, hares, and pikas are
distinct from rodents in various respects, for example they have four incisor
teeth (rather than two) and they are almost completely herbivorous (whereas
many rodents also eat meat).
In conclusion:
Most people are familiar with
mice, rats, hamsters, and guinea pigs, which are commonly kept as pets. The
Rodentia also includes beavers, muskrats, porcupines, woodchucks, chipmunks,
squirrels, prairie dogs, marmots, chinchillas, voles, lemmings, and many
others. (Incidentally, the Rodentia does not include rabbits; rabbits differ
from rodents in having an extra pair of incisors and in other skeletal
features. Rabbits, hares, and a few other species make up the Lagomorpha.
Shrews, moles and hedgehogs are also not rodents; they are classified in the
Mammal order Eulipotyphla
