NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Omilteme Cottontail
Sylvilagus insonus (Nelson, 1904)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Omilteme cottontail (Sylvilagus insonus), or Omiltemi cottontail (Spanish: conejo de Omiltemi), is a species of cottontail rabbit in the family Leporidae found only in the Mexican state of Guerrero in the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range. It is a nocturnal, large rabbit, rufous to black in fur color, with long ears and a short tail. This cottontail is restricted to cloud forests at elevations of up to 11,499 feet (3,505 meters). First identified in 1904 by Edward William Nelson in Omilteme, Guerrero, Mexico under the scientific name Lepus insonus, the Omilteme cottontail was soon after reclassified as a member of the genus Sylvilagus, the cottontail rabbits. It is closely related to the Mexican cottontail (S. cunicularius) and the desert cottontail (S. audubonii); the former species overlaps in distribution with the Omilteme cottontail. The Omilteme cottontail is considered one of the most endangered mammal species in the world, and is only known from a few specimens.
Wikipedia contributors, Omilteme cottontail; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:36:06.552709+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Sylvilagus insonus (Nelson, 1904)
- Name authority
- (Nelson, 1904)
- Common name
- Omilteme Cottontail
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Lagomorpha
- Family
- Leporidae
- Genus
- Sylvilagus
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderLagomorpha Brandt, 1855
- familyLeporidae Fischer, 1817
- genusSylvilagus Gray, 1867
- speciesSylvilagus insonus (Nelson, 1904)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Sylvilagus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Andean CottontailSylvilagus andinus (Thomas, 1897) | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Apollinaris' CottontailSylvilagus apollinaris Thomas, 1920 | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Cane CutterSylvilagus aquaticus (Bachman, 1837) | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Audubon's CottontailSylvilagus audubonii (Baird, 1858) | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Mexican CottontailSylvilagus cunicularius (Waterhouse, 1848) | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Central American Lowland Forest CottontailSylvilagus gabbi (J. A. Allen, 1877) | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tres Marias CottontailSylvilagus graysoni (J. A. Allen, 1877) | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| San José Brush RabbitSylvilagus mansuetus Nelson, 1907 | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dwarf TapetíSylvilagus tapetillus Thomas, 1913 | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| ConeySylvilagus transitionalis (Bangs, 1895) | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Barinas Wild RabbitSylvilagus varynaensis Durant & Guevara, 2001 | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Brush RabbitSylvilagus bachmani (Waterhouse, 1839) | LeporidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Lepus insonus Nelson, 1904 Nelson, 1904 | synonym |
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=625369 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:53N94. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.