Zaiya
Allison
I keep hearing and reading people say that rabbits are rodents like rats, mice, hamsters, etc. :nonono: Many people think that rabbits are just large rodents. NOT TRUE! I want to help people realize what exactly rabbits are! So I compiled all of the information from a couple of my rabbit and hamster books, and this is what a rabbit really is...
First of all, to to those that don't know much about taxonomy, this is how everything works together. Taxonomy is scientists' method of ordering all living things. The taxonomic groups go in this order: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species name.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Lagomorpha
Family: Leporidae
Genus: Oryctolagus
Species: Cuniculus (domestic rabbit)
Rabbits belong to the order Lagomorpha, and rodents belong to the order Rodentia. The name Lagomorpha comes from the Latin word lagos meaning "hare", and morphe meaning "form". The order has only two families: Leporidae (rabbits and hares), and Ochotonidae (pikas).
So that's today's lesson why rabbits are NOT rodents! :bunnybutt: Hope you enjoyed it!
First of all, to to those that don't know much about taxonomy, this is how everything works together. Taxonomy is scientists' method of ordering all living things. The taxonomic groups go in this order: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species name.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Lagomorpha
Family: Leporidae
Genus: Oryctolagus
Species: Cuniculus (domestic rabbit)
Rabbits belong to the order Lagomorpha, and rodents belong to the order Rodentia. The name Lagomorpha comes from the Latin word lagos meaning "hare", and morphe meaning "form". The order has only two families: Leporidae (rabbits and hares), and Ochotonidae (pikas).
So that's today's lesson why rabbits are NOT rodents! :bunnybutt: Hope you enjoyed it!