Volcano Rabbit

Open encyclopedia reference

The volcano rabbit (Romerolagus diazi) (Spanish: conejo de los volcanes), also known as the teporingo or zacatuche, is a species of small rabbit that lives in pine and alder forests on volcanic slopes in Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Romerolagus and is considered to be the most primitive species among the rabbits and hares. It has small, rounded ears, short legs, a large forehead, and short, thick fur. It is one of the world's smallest rabbits, lives in groups consisting of between two and five members, and makes burrows (underground nests) and runways (worn-down, frequently traveled surface paths) among bunchgrasses. Up to three young are produced per litter, born in nests formed from shallow depressions in the ground lined with fur and plant matter. Uniquely among the rabbits, the volcano rabbit emits high-pitched sounds to warn other rabbits of danger, a habit common in the related pikas. It is awake and most active in the early morning and evening. Populations have been estimated as approximately 7,000 adult individuals over their entire range.

Wikipedia contributors, Volcano rabbit; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:47:29.861364+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Romerolagus diazi (Ferrari-Pérez, 1893)

Name authority

(Ferrari-Pérez, 1893)

Common name

Volcano Rabbit

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Lagomorpha

Family

Leporidae

Genus

Romerolagus

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. genusRomerolagus Merriam, 1896
14. speciesRomerolagus diazi (Ferrari-Pérez, 1893)

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=625364 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:6WWMV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.