RABBIT (ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS).
RABBIT (ORYCTOLAGUS CUNICULUS).
Habitat:
- home
Mode of reproduction:
- sexual/viviparous/internal fertilisation, with parental care
Mode of nutrition:
- holozoic
Method of feeding:
- herbivorous (on cassava, Tridax and sweet potato leaves)
The diet is vegetation/grass, and the position in the food chain is a primary consumer
Adaptations to the herbivorous mode of feeding
- Sharp incisors for cutting grass
- Diastema allows easy movement of the tongue to handle chewed food easily
- Long intestine,
- A long and large caecum, which harbours bacteria for cellulose digestion
- Whiskers for detecting vibration, thereby feeling their way through dark burrows
It belongs to the Phylum Chordata
Reasons:
- Have notochord
- Have a dorsal hollow nerve cord
- Possess pharyngeal slits
- Presence of post anal tail.
- Bilaterally symmetrical
- Well-developed sense organs
Class Mammalia
Reasons
- Presence of Skin covered with fur
- Presence of heterodont dentition
- Presence of the external ear, called the pinna
- Presence of Sweat glands.
- Presence of the diaphragm
- Presence of a well-developed brain
- Reproduction is viviparous
- Presence of mammary glands in females
Observable features in the rabbit
- Long ears
- Stumpy tail
- White/black/brown/a mixture of white, black and brown
- Tapered anterior end
- Blunt posterior end
- Nictitating membrane
- Whiskers/vibrissae: help to move in a dark burrow
- Funnel-like pinna, which can move freely to detect sound from all directions
Observable features that can be inherited in rabbit
- Coat colour
- Coat length
- Size of body
- Colour of eye
- Size/length of pinna
Adaptations of the rabbit
- Whiskers/vibrissae: help to move in a dark burrow
- Funnel-like pinna, which can move freely to detect sound from all directions
- Long, muscular hind limbs for hopping/jumping
- The body is covered with fur for temperature regulation
- Clawed digits for digging a hole and for scratching
- Sharp incisors for feeding
- The position of the eyes on either side of the head allows a wide range of view
- The head is pear-shaped for easy movement in burrows
Features to escape danger
- Long, muscular hind limbs for hopping/jumping
- Funnel-like pinna, which can move freely to detect sound from all directions
- Position of the eyes on either side of the head allows a wide range of view
Features for movement
- Long, muscular hind limbs for hopping/jumping
External features for feeding
- Sharp incisors for feeding
- Clawed digits for digging
Functions of fur
- Temperature regulation
- Colour for cryptic
- Protection against mechanical injury
Sensory structures
- Skin
- Whiskers
- Eyes
- Ear
- Nostril
- Tongue
State the Sex of the specimen with two reasons
Female
Reasons:
- Presence of mammary glands and
- Presence of vulval opening
Male:
- Presence of scrotum with testicles
- Presence of a penis
Economic Importance of the Rabbit
- Source of food
- Source of income
- Employment
Features of evolutionary significance
- Fur for temperature regulation on land
- Legs for movement on land
- Lungs for gaseous exchange on land
- The ear is used to detect the vibration of sound on land
- Clawed digits
- Pentadactyl limb
