Sumatran Rabbit

Open encyclopedia reference

The Sumatran striped rabbit (Nesolagus netscheri), also known as the Sumatra short-eared rabbit or Sumatran rabbit, is a species of rabbit found in the montane forests of the Barisan Mountains in northwestern Sumatra and surrounding areas. Similar in size to the European rabbit, but with shorter limbs and muzzle and a broader head, the Sumatran striped rabbit is distinguished by the black or dark brown stripes running across its yellowish grey body. Its close relative, the recently discovered Annamite striped rabbit, has similar fur patterns, but is only found on the Laos–Vietnam border. Like other rabbits, the Sumatran striped rabbit eats plants. It prefers the vegetation of those in the genus Cyrtandra, but will feed on fallen fruit and plants in the Araceae family as well. It avoids cultivated fruits and grains. Studies on the rabbit suggest that it is a solitary, nocturnal animal. Little else is known about its ecology. The Sumatran striped rabbit has been described as the rarest rabbit in the world.

Wikipedia contributors, Sumatran striped rabbit; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:34:13.421714+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Nesolagus netscheri (Schlegel, 1880)

Name authority

(Schlegel, 1880)

Common name

Sumatran Rabbit

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Lagomorpha

Family

Leporidae

Genus

Nesolagus

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderLagomorpha Brandt, 1855
12. familyLeporidae Fischer, 1817
13. genusNesolagus Forsyth-Major, 1899
14. speciesNesolagus netscheri (Schlegel, 1880)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 43 records assigned to Leporidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=625358 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:477X9. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.