AnAge entry for Sylvilagus floridanus

Classification (HAGRID: 02239)

Taxonomy: Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
        Class: Mammalia (Taxon entry)
            Order: Lagomorpha
                Family: Leporidae
                    Genus: Sylvilagus
Species: Sylvilagus floridanus
Common name: Eastern cottontail

Maximum longevity: 9.8 years (captivity)
Source: Steven Austad, pers. comm.
Sample size: Small
Data quality: Acceptable
Observations: In the wild, these animals appear to live up to 5 years. In captivity, they have been reported to live more than 9 years [0001]. One captive specimen lived 8.4 years at Tulsa Zoo [0671]. There are anecdotal reports, which may be true, of one animal living 9.8 years in captivity (Steven Austad, pers. comm.). Other estimates suggest they may live over 10 years [0697], but this is unverified.

: No information is available on life history. Please contact us if you wish to suggest or contribute data.

No information on metabolism is available.

[0671] Richard Weigl (2005), Longevity of Mammals in Captivity; from the Living Collections of the World
[0610] Ernest (2003), Life history characteristics of placental non-volant mammals
[0001] Carey and Judge (2000), Longevity Records: Life Spans of Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, Reptiles, and Fish
[0434] Ronald Nowak (1999), Walker's Mammals of the World
[0676] Purvis and Harvey (1995), Mammal life-history evolution: a comparative test of Charnov's model
[0455] Virginia Hayssen et al. (1993), Asdell's Patterns of Mammalian Reproduction: A Compendium of Species-Specific Data
[0680] Wootton (1987), The effects of body mass, phylogeny, habitat, and trophic level on mammalian age at first reproduction
[0731] Zullinger et al. (1984), Fitting sigmoid equations to mammalian growth curves
[0697] Chapman et al. (1980), Sylvilagus floridanus