Mammals
Amami Rabbit
Pentalagus furnessi · also called Ryukyu rabbit
Emerging from a burrow dug specifically for giving birth, a young Amami rabbit begins its life in a way most other rabbit species never experience, a primitive trait carried by one of the world’s most distinctive and narrowly restricted living fossils.
Overview
The Amami rabbit, Pentalagus furnessi, is an Endangered mammal native to forest habitat on Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima, two islands in Japan’s Ryukyu Island chain. Its status as a primitive, little-changed lineage, unusual burrow-based birth, and vulnerability to introduced predators make it one of the most evolutionarily significant and urgently threatened rabbit species in the world.
A rabbit caught between ancient biology and modern threats
The Amami rabbit’s primitive traits, including short legs, small ears, and burrow-based birth, reflect an evolutionary lineage largely unchanged for millions of years, a resilience that has nonetheless proven no match for predators introduced to its island home within living memory.
Status
Endangered, with a population declining due to predation by introduced mongooses, habitat loss, and road mortality across its limited island range.
Amami Rabbit: common questions
Why is the Amami rabbit called a living fossil?
It represents a primitive rabbit lineage that has changed relatively little from ancestral forms seen in the fossil record, distinguishing it from most other modern rabbit species.
How does the Amami rabbit give birth differently from other rabbits?
Unlike most rabbit species, which give birth in a simple surface nest, the Amami rabbit digs and gives birth inside a dedicated burrow.
Why did mongooses become a threat to the Amami rabbit?
Mongooses were introduced to its island habitat specifically to control venomous snakes, but instead preyed heavily on the native rabbit population, contributing significantly to its decline.
Where is the Amami rabbit found?
It is restricted entirely to Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima, two islands within Japan's Ryukyu Island chain, found nowhere else in the world.