The Omilteme cottontail, aka Omiltemi cottontail or conejo de Omiltemi, is only found in Guerrero, in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range. These cottontails face the threats of habitat loss and destruction at the hands of farming, ranching, logging, and wood harvesting; hunting; and trapping. The IUCN lists these lagomorphs as Data Deficient. Their population trend is listed as unknown.
First the Stats…
Scientific name: Sylvilagus insonus
Weight: Up to 5 lbs.
Length: Up to 17.3 inches
Lifespan: Up to 5 years
Now on to the Facts!
1.) These rabbits are nocturnal (active at night).
2.) They prefer to dwell in cloud forests at elevations of up to 11,499 feet.
3.) Edward William Nelson first described these rabbits in 1904.
4.) They’re closely related to the desert cottontail.
5.) At 1 time, they were listed by the IUCN and Mexican authorities as Critically Endangered. They are now considered a data deficient species.
But wait, there’s more on the Omilteme cottontail!
6.) From the early 1900s until the 1990s, no confirmed sightings of these cottontails were recorded, sans 2 individuals discovered in 1998, and more were located through the 2020s utilizing camera traps.
7.) Omilteme cottontails are heterodonts (having different tooth shapes) possessing a total of 28 teeth.
Did you know…?
Omilteme cottontails are considered to be 1 of the most endangered mammal species in the world.
8.) Sans humans the only other known predators are likely cougars, jaguars, and wolves.
9.) Females likely undergo a gestation (pregnancy) of just 31 days. However, not much is factually known about their reproductive habits.
10.) It is also likely that females yield up to 8 kits.
Now a Short Omilteme Cottontail Video!
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Some source material acquired from: Wikipedia & IUCN
