A New Leporine (Lagomorpha: Leporidae) from Wisconsinan Deposits of the Chihuahuan Desert

Abstract

A new genus and species of rabbit is described from late Pleistocene (mid-Wisconsinan) deposits of Dry Cave, southeastern New Mexico. Additional specimens are known from Anthony Cave, south-central New Mexico and adjacent Texas; U-Bar Cave, extreme southwestern New Mexico; and Jiménez Cave, southern Chihuahua, México. This rabbit is characterized by its small size, nearing that of the dwarf rabbit, Sylvilagus leonensis Cushing; P₃ enamel pattern with similarities to that of Nekrolagus progressus (Hibbard); heavily crenulated reentrant folds on the lower dentition; long mandibular diastema with incisor terminating well anterior to P₃; and limb proportions that imply a cursorial habit similar to that of Lepus californicus. A close affinity with N. progressus is indicated by characters of P₃; however, other features in the lower dentition could imply affinity with Eurasian taxa.