I have a question...

[Shawn]

What is the purpose of a rabbits tail, if there is even a purpose?

Iv'e looked and don't seem to be able to find the answer. Don't ask mehow i thought of this question lol i was just looking at my rabbitstoday and i thought its just a ball of fluff, does it actually doanything?

[line]



Thanks for Reading

Shawn

 

[Daffy]

Hubby and I were talking about this last weekafter watching wild buns in the field. I think its a bit of adesign flaw. Its difficult to see a bun grazing andstationery but when it hops its tail flashes white.., surelya dead give away to a preditor. But apparently ( according tohubby) the white flash of the tail is to attract preditors toattack the tail and not the head so that it is easier to escape.

Its an interesting question and I'd love to hear other peoples opinions

 

[Shawn]

Yes me two. Hopefully somebody will be able to answer our question

Shawn

 

[jil101ca]

Maybe prehistoric bunnies had long tails? A horse's chesnut used to be a toe.

 

[Spring]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the tail isfor balance? I think I remember reading that somewhere, but could bewrong. Not sure.

They can also communicate with their tails .

 

[jil101ca]

I did a search and found this...

Were there ever prehistoric rabbit dinosaurs?

Oldest fossil 'rabbit' unearthed


Gomphos had long hindlimbs, just like a modern rabbit
The fossilised skeleton of a rabbit-like creature that lived 55
million years ago has been found in Mongolia, Science magazine
reports.


Gomphos elkema, as it is known, is the oldest member of the
rabbit family ever to be found.

Gomphos was surprisingly similar to modern rabbits - and probably
hopped around on its elongated hindlimbs.


The fossil adds weight to the idea that rabbit-like creatures
first evolved no earlier than 65 million years ago.

"This skeleton is very complete," co-author Robert Asher, of
Humboldt Universität, Berlin, Germany, told the BBC News website.

"Gomphos gives us valuable information about the anatomy of early
rabbits - it tells us what they looked like.

"Gomphos had a true 'rabbit's foot'; that is, a foot more than
twice as long as the hand that could be used for hopping."

But the ancient creature did have some traits that were unlike
its modern relative. For example, Gomphos had quite a big tail
and some of its teeth were more squirrel-like than rabbit-like.

 

[Starina]

Their tail is awesome, I thought it was just apuff ball until I saw my bunny's butt for the first time. My bunnytells me all sorts of things with her little tail. She flicks it backand forth when she is excited. She flips it up when she is scared, ormad. It relaxes and lays down when she is relaxed and sleepy.

I think it works like a deer's tail, they flip it up when scared, andother bunnies see it and know to run, much like the thump. (Why elsewould it be so WHITE?)

I wonder what a prehistoric rabbit would look like... something like the Landstriders from Dark Crystal?

~Star~

 

[maherwoman]

I used to think that, too! I looked atbunny statues and such when I was little, and somehow just thought itwas a poofball on their back. Never occurred to me that therewas an actual TAIL there that did so much!

When we got Maisie, I was amazed at the range of motion those little"poofballs" can do! I really love, especially, how Maisie'sis such a dark gray (almost black) on top, and stark, contrast white onthe bottom. It's so cute!!

Then you have Flower's...that pure, beautiful white.

And Trixie's is spotted on top, and pure white on bottom...CUTE!

I just love those tails.

I especially love when Maisie is sitting loaf-style, and her poofy taillooks like those bunny statues, and her ears are like a V.She looks like this statue I had when I was little...it's so cute!

I looooove bunnies......

:inlove:

Starina wrote:

Their tail is awesome, Ithought it was just a puff ball until I saw my bunny's butt for thefirst time. My bunny tells me all sorts of things with her little tail.She flicks it back and forth when she is excited. She flips it up whenshe is scared, or mad. It relaxes and lays down when she is relaxed andsleepy.

I think it works like a deer's tail, they flip it up when scared, andother bunnies see it and know to run, much like the thump. (Why elsewould it be so WHITE?)

I wonder what a prehistoric rabbit would look like... something like the Landstriders from Dark Crystal?

~Star~

 

[Spring]

Oh cool! Prehistoric rabbit.. that's neat!

I searched the Gomphos and found this picture..

 

[maherwoman]

Wow! :shock:

That prehistoric bun looks HUGE!! No threat there! Hehe...

:muscleman:

 

[polly]

You ned to watch watership down again! lol frithgave them it for a reason just can't think what it was right now! willhave to watch it again too. My little bun Yoshi has just hit histerrible 2's and his is constantly up and marking everything!!

 

[tundrakatiebean]

Maybe it's for the same thing as a white tail deer, they flash the white under their tail to give a quite warning to the others?

 

[Brandy456]

Spring wrote:

Oh cool! Prehistoric rabbit.. that's neat!

I searched the Gomphos and found this picture..

That looks like a cross breed from:

Rat (tail)

Hamster (ears)

Bunny (feet)

And, I dont know what the other one is called but there is this carcomercial with the bunny and the car for *good* and the other animaland the car for *bad* its like a evil squirrel or something.

 

[Shawn]

So far we think that a rabbits tail is for:

• Balance
• Communication
• and to make the rabbit look cute lol

and its from aprehistorical rabbit/rat/hamster/mouse thing. Thats interesting and ithink its probably our answer. Lets see if anyone else has any ideas...

[line]


Shawn

 

[Bassetluv]

The person who wrote that rabbits use theirtails much like a deer is correct. Wild rabbits live in communities andwill graze in fields together. At the first sight (or scent) of apredator, the rabbit or rabbits who notice it will sit up erect, earsalert, nose in the air, checking to find the position of the enemy.Then they will thump the ground loudly and flash their tails. Noticewhen they run away...the tails are still raised high, right over theirrumps, clearly exposing the white...it's a flag to the others, awarning signal that a predator is invading their space and they need tofind safety. So their alarm system consists of smell (the nose), sound(the feet thumping) and sight (their eyes, actually seeing thepredator, and the tail to warn the others).

 

[JadeIcing]

This is a very cool thread. :bunnydance:

 

[Shawn]

Thank you for your answerBassetluv. I had beenthinking about my question for ages, and now it makes so much sence

[line]



Shawn

 

[Shawn]

If the prehistoric rabbit has developed so muchin 55 million years and its design has so greatly improved, imaginewhat it will look like in another 55 million years. Rabbitswillprobably have taken over the world. lol

Another factor which has confused me about this prehistoric rabbit is that it says it is a member of the rabbit family.

Does this mean it is not actually the same animal as the rabbit we know today?

or

Does it mean it is the same animal but it has just evolved.

Sorry if i haven't written that very clearly. Thank You



[line]



Shawn

 

[naturestee]

It is a different species. Rabbitsbelong to the family Lagomorpha, in the family Leporidae.There are different genus of rabbits and hares in this family, eachwith different species inside that genus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagomorph

As animals evolve, they slowly become separate species. Ifyou are interested in this, read up on evolution. I find itfascinating, and I learned a lot about this theory in several classesin college.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution

 

[Shawn]

Thank You for that, i will have a read. It looks interesting.

Shawn