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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Snowshoe Hare

Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777

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.

Snowshoe Hare

Snowshoe Hare

Lepus_americanus_5459.JPG: Walter Siegmund (talk) derivative work: Wsiegmund · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

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Open encyclopedia reference

The snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), also called the varying hare or snowshoe rabbit, is a species of hare found in North America. The "snowshoe" moniker refers to the hare's large hind feet, which prevent it from sinking into soft snow, much like snowshoes.

The hare has two seasonal coats which aid in camouflaging the animal. In summer, the hare is covered in short, brown fur; in winter this is exchanged for a longer coat of white fur. The name "varying hare" refers to this seasonal change in appearance.

A major predator of the snowshoe hare is the Canada lynx. Historical records of animals caught by fur hunters over decades show the lynx and hare numbers rising and falling in a cycle, which has made the hare known to biology students worldwide as a case study of the relationship between numbers of predators and their prey.

Wikipedia contributors, Snowshoe hare; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:08:48.183882+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777
Name authority
Erxleben, 1777
Common name
Snowshoe Hare
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Lagomorpha
Family
Leporidae
Genus
Lepus
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. genusLepus Linnaeus, 1758
  14. speciesLepus americanus Erxleben, 1777

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Lepus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Mountain HareLepus timidus Linnaeus, 1758LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Alaska Arctic HareLepus othus Merriam, 1900LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Ethiopian HareLepus fagani Thomas, 1903LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Arabian HareLepus capensis Linnaeus, 1758LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Yunnan HareLepus comus Allen, 1927LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Corsican HareLepus corsicanus de Winton, 1898LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Black-tailed Jack RabbitLepus californicus Gray, 1837LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Black JackrabbitLepus insularis W. Bryant, 1891LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Hainan HareLepus hainanus Swinhoe, 1870LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Tehuantepec JackrabbitLepus flavigularis Wagner, 1844LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
White-tailed Jack RabbitLepus townsendii Bachman, 1839LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant
Arctic HareLepus arcticus Ross, 1819LeporidaeChordataAccepted speciesRecorded extant

Browse 43 records assigned to Leporidae.

Documented distribution

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

North America

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=180112 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:6PPXC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.