Biometric characterisation and taxonomic considerations of european rabbit Oryctolagus Cuniculus (Linnaeus 1758) in Sicily (Italy)

M. Lo Valvo; A. La Scala; M. Scalisi

doi:10.4995/wrs.2014.1467

Authors

M. Lo Valvo University of Palermo
A. La Scala University of Palermo
M. Scalisi Regione Lazio, Agenzia Regionale per i Parchi

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4995/wrs.2014.1467

Keywords:

European rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Sicily, biometry, taxonomy

Abstract

In Sicilian Mediterranean ecosystems the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus is a keystone species, very important for popular small game species and for ecological reasons. However, its spread across the island seems to have decreased and fragmented in recent times, but until now no accurate population management has been carried out due to the lack of ethological, ecological and taxonomic knowledge. A biometric analysis of European rabbit specimens from Sicily to widen current taxonomic knowledge was performed. In this paper, 7 body variables and 23 cranial variables of 166 and 120 individuals, respectively, were examined. Thereafter, the results were compared with biometric data from other European populations.
The comparison showed that the body size and skull measurement in Sicilian specimens of European rabbit seem to be quite distinct from those given in the literature on rabbit in south-west Spain, whose populations were assigned to Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus subspecies, whereas it was particularly close to the average size of populations in northern Spain and southern France, assigned to Oryctolagus cuniculus cuniculus. Moreover, the Sicilian taxon was not correlated with Bergmann’s rule, showing characteristics that could be the result of its introduction, population management or insularity. Biomolecular analyses will be necessary to definitely clarify the taxonomy of European rabbit in Sicily.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

M. Lo Valvo, University of Palermo

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF).

Via Archirafi 18

I-90123 Palermo

A. La Scala, University of Palermo

Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF).

Via Archirafi 18

I-90123 Palermo

References

Alda F., Alcaraz L., Hernández M., Doadrio I., García-Garitagoita J.L., Gaitero T. 2006. Estudio genético e immunológico del conejo silvestre: implicaciones epidemiológicas y poblacionales de las traslocaciones y reintroducciones. Informe inédito. Departamento de biodiversidad y biologia evolutiva. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Madrid.

Angelici F.M., Spagnesi M. 2008. Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus, 1758). In: Amori G., Contoli L., Nappi A. (eds). Fauna d’Italia XLIV, Mammalia II Edizioni Calderini. Milano: 292-302.

Barrett-Hamilton G.E.H. 1912. A history of british mammals. Vol 2., Gurney and Jackson, London, United Kingdom, 183.

Blanco J.C., Villafuerte R. 1993. Factores ecológicos que influyen sobre las poblaciones de conejos. Incidencia de la enfermedad hermorrágica. Empresa de Transformación Agraria, S.A., Madrid, Spain.

Biju-Duval C., Ennafaa H., Dennebouy N., Monnerot M., Mignotte F., Soriguer R.C., El Gaaïed A., El Hili A., Mounolou J.C. 1991. Mithocondrial DNA evolutional in lagomorphs: Origin

of systematic heteroplasmy and organisation of diversity in European Rabbits. J. Mol. Evol., 33: 92-102. doi:10.1007/BF02100200

Bodson L. 1978. Données antiques de zoogéographie. L’expansion des Lépoidés dans le Méditerranée classique. Les naturalistes Belges, 59: 66-81.

Branco M., Ferrand N., Monnerot M. 2000. Phylogeography of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on the Iberian peninsula inferred from RFLP analysis of the cytochrome b gene. Heredity, 85: 307-313. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2540.2000.00756.x

Branco M., Monnerot M., Ferrand N., Templeton A.R. 2002. Postglacial dispersal of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) on the Iberian peninsula reconstructed from nested clade and mismatch analyses of mitochondrial DNA genetic variation. Evolution, 56: 792-803. doi:10.1111/j.0014-3820.2002.tb01390.x

Bresc H. 1980. La chasse in Sicilie (XIIe-XVe siècles). In: La chasse au moyen age. Colloque du Centre d’Etudes Médiévales de Nice. 22-24 June 1979, Nizza, Italy, 201-217.

Callou C. 1995. Modifications de l’aire de répartition du lapin (Oryctolagus cuniculus) en France et en Espagne, du Pléistocène à l’époque actuelle. État de la question. Anthropozoologica, 21: 95-113.

Clutton-Brock J. 1981. Domesticated animals from early times. Heinemann/British Museum (Natural History), London, United Kingdom, 208.

Di Vittorio M., Seminara S., Lo Valvo M. 2003. Nuovi dati sulla biologia e sulla biologia e sullo status dell’Aquila reale, Aquila chrysaetos, in Sicilia. Avocetta, 27: 40.

Esteves P.J. 2003. Molecular and population genetic analysis of polymorphism at the antibody loci IgGCH2 and IgVH in lagomorphs. Faculdade de Ciências Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.

Fais I., Costanzo M., Massa B. 1991. Primi dati sulla posizione trofica della Volpe (Vulpes vulpes) in Sicilia. Atti I Simposio Italiano Carnivori. Hystrix (n.s.), 3: 105-112.

Fallico A. 2000. Studio della riproduzione del Coniglio selvatico Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaueus 1758) in Sicilia. Tesi di laurea, Università di Catania, Italy.

Ferrand N. 1991. Rabbit domestic breeds are probably derived from a single wild sub-species (Oryctolagus cuniculus cuniculus). I European Congress of Mammology, March 1991, Lisbon, Portugal.

Ferrand N. 2008. Inferring the evolutionary history of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) from molecular markers. In: Alves P.C., Ferrand N., Hackländer K. (eds). Lagomorphbiology: evolution, ecology, and conservation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, pp 47-63. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-72446-9_4

Flux J.E.C. 1994. World distribution. In: Thompson H.V., King C.M. (eds). The European rabbit. Oxford Science Publications, Oxford, United Kingdom, 8-21.

Hardy C., Vigne J.D., Casane D., Dennebouy N., Mounolou J.C., Monnerot M. 1994. Origin of European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculs) in a Mediterranean island: zooarchaelogy and ancien DNA examination. J. Evol. Biol., 7: 217-226. doi:10.1046/j.1420-9101.1994.7020217.x

Hardy C., Callou C., Vigne J.D., Casane D., Dennebouy N., Mounolou J.C., Monnerot M. 1995. Rabbit mithocondrial DNA diversity from prehistoric to modern times. J. Mol. Evol., 40: 227-237. doi:10.1007/BF00163228

Kaetzke P., Niedermeier J., Masseti M. 2003. Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linné 1758) Europäisches Wildkanichen. In: Krapp F. (ed). Handbuch der Säugetiere Europas. Hasentiere, Aula-Verlag, Wiebelsheim, Germany, 187-289.

Lo Valvo M., Massa B. 1992. Aquila del Bonelli Hieraaetus fasciatus. In: Brichetti P. et al. (eds). Fauna d’ Italia XXIX. Aves. I. Edizioni Calderini, Bologna, Italy: 616-621.

López-Martínez N. 1989. Revision sistemática y biostratigráfica de los lagomorphos (Mammalia) del terciario y cuaternario de España. Mem. Mus. Paleontol. Univ. Zaragoza: 31-343

López-Martínez N. 2008. The Lagomorph Fossil record and the origin of the European Rabbit. In: Alves P.C., Ferrand N., Hackländer K. (eds). Lagomorph biology: evolution, ecology, and conservation. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, Germany, 27-46. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-72446-9_3

Miller G.S. 1912. Catalogue of the mammals of western Europe in the collection of the British Museum. Trustees of the British Museum. London, United Kingdom.

Onar V. 1999. A morphometric study on the skull of the German shepherd dog (Alsatian). Anat. Histol. Embryol., 28: 253-256. doi:10.1046/j.1439-0264.1999.00202.x

Rogers P.M. 1979. Ecology of the European wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L), in the Camargue, southern France. PhD thesis, Universitas Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 180.

Rogers P.M., Arthur C.P., Soriguer R.C. 1994. The rabbit in continental Europe. In: Thompson H.V. and King C.M (eds). The European rabbit. Oxford Science Publications, Oxford, U.K., 22-63.

Sharples C.M., Fa J.E., Bell D.J. 1996. Geographical variation in size in the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (Lagomorpha: Leporidae) in western Europe and North Africa. Zool. J. Lin. Soc-Lond., 117: 141-158. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1996.tb02153.x

Siracusa A.M. 1997. Contributo sulla conoscenza della dieta della Volpe in Sicilia (Mammalia Carnivora). Naturalista sicil., 21:261-270.

Siracusa A.M., 2008. Coniglio selvatico Oryctolagus cuniculus (L., 1758). In: AA.VV. Atlante della Biodiversità della Sicilia: Vertebrati terrestri. Studi e Ricerche, 6, Arpa Sicilia, Palermo, Italy.

Sokal R.R., Rohlf F.J. 1995. Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. 3rd ed. New York: W. H. Freeman. 887 pp.

Soriguer R.C. 1980. El conejo, Oryctolagus cuniculus (L), en Andalucía Occidental: Parámetros corporales y curva de crecimiento. Doñana, Acta Vertebrata, 7: 83-90.

Statsoft I. 2003. Statistica 6.1: data analysis, data mining, and quality control. Statsoft, Tulsa, USA.

Taylor J., Freedman L., Olivier TJ., McCluskey J. 1977. Morphometric distances between Australian European Rabbit population. Aust. J. Zool., 25: 721-732

Toschi A. 1965. Mammalia: Lagomorpha, Rodentia, Carnivora, Ungulata, Cetacea. Fauna d’Italia, Calderoni, Bologna.

Trocchi V., Riga F. 2005. I Lagomorfi in Italia. Linee guide per la conservazione e la gestione. Ministero delle politiche agricole e forestali. Istituto Nazionale di Fauna selvatica, documenti tecnici 25: 1-128.

Vigne J.D. 1988. Les mammifères post-glaciaires de Corse. Étude archeozoologique XXVIe supplément a Gallia Préhistoire. Editions du CNRS, Paris, France: 337 pp.

Wilkens B. 1987. La fauna dell’età del Bronzo di Mursia. Nota preliminare. Atti della Società Toscana di Scienze Naturali, 94: 215-224.