Nuralagus is an extinctgenus of leporid (the family of rabbits and hares), with a single species, Nuralagus rex, described in 2011. It lived on Menorca, one of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean during the Pliocene epoch. It is the largest known lagomorph to have ever existed, with an estimated weight of 8–12 kilograms (18–26 lb), nearly double the weight of the average Flemish Giant rabbit. It likely went extinct at the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition when Mallorca and Menorca were united as one island, letting the mammalian fauna of Mallorca, including the goat-like ungulateMyotragus, colonize Nuralagus's habitat.
So far, all of the fossils have been found in fissure fill deposits in the northwest of Menorca, dating to sometime in the Pliocene. The material was originally preliminarily described by Pons-Moya et al. in 1981, who referred it to cf. Alilepus. The genus and species Nuralagus rex were described in 2011 in a full description of the material, which included the front half of a skull, as well as numerous isolated postcranial bones corresponding to most of the skeleton.[1]
Descriptionedit
Size of Nuralagus compared with a European rabbit and a person 5'9" tall.A Nuralagusfemur compared to a European rabbit femur.
With a height of half a meter and an estimated weight of 12 kg (26 lb),[1][2] or 8 kg (18 lb)[3] the species is the largest known lagomorph, being ten times the weight of the average wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and around double the weight of the average Flemish Giant rabbit. Its size was likely due to island gigantism. It had a comparatively small skull relative to its body size and small sensory receptors, including orbits and tympanic bullae, suggesting reduced senses of hearing and eyesight.[1]Nuralagus rex had a short and stiff spine which resulted in low mobility and an inability to jump like other leporids.[4] Bone histology analysis suggests that the species was sexually dimorphic, with females being larger than males. The growth lines within the bones suggest that the large body size was the result of growing over a longer period of time, rather than the result of increasing growth rates. The age of sexual maturity was estimated at 3.6 years for females and 6.2 years for males, considerably higher than would be expected solely based on bodymass.[5]
Evolutionedit
Nuralagus rex likely entered what is now Menorca during the Messinian Salinity Crisis 5.96-5.3 million years ago. During this event, the Strait of Gibraltar closed, leading to the desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea, resulting in the connection of the islands to the Iberian Peninsula, letting Nuralagus's ancestor colonize the area. The subsequent Zanclean flood 5.3 million years ago then returned the Mediterranean to its original sea levels, isolating Nuralagus's ancestor on Menorca.[6] There is a dearth of knowledge about the evolutionary history of Nuralagus rex in relation to other lagomorphs. However, similarities between the dental morphology of Nuralagus and Eurasian members of the extinct genus Alilepus have led to speculation that Alilepus is closely related to and, possibly, the ancestor of Nuralagus.[1][7] The only other mammal native to Menorca during the Pliocene was the extinct giant dormouse species Muscardinus cyclopeus, which belongs to the same genus as the living hazel dormouse, with a herpetofauna including the giant tortoise Solitudo gymnesica, snakes, amphisbaenian, lacertid and gekkonid lizards, and alytid frogs.[8]Nuralagus probably became extinct around the end of the Pliocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene, corresponding with the colonisation of Menorca by the mammals that lived on Mallorca (comprising the goat-antelope Myotragus, the shrew Nesiotites and the dormouse Hypnomys) due to the islands being connected during low sea level episodes as a result of Quaternary glaciation.[9][10]
Nuralagus's unique traits were most likely the product of an insular environment containing no natural predators. Physical similarities between Nuralagus rex and Pentalagus furnessi (an extant insular lagomorph which until recently also did not have natural predators) despite the phylogenetic and geographical distance between the two species further supports this inference.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcdeQuintana, Josep; Kohler, Mike; Moya-Sola, Salvador (2011). "Nuralagus rex, gen. et sp. nov., an endemic insular giant rabbit from the Neogene of Minorca". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 31 (2): 231–240. doi:10.1080/02724634.2011.550367. S2CID 83649921.
^Susan Milius (2011). "The Bunny That Ruled Minorca". Science News. 179 (9): 18. doi:10.1002/scin.5591790921.
^Moncunill-Solé, B.; Quintana, J.; Jordana, X.; Engelbrektsson, P.; Köhler, M. (April 2015). "The weight of fossil leporids and ochotonids: body mass estimation models for the order Lagomorpha". Journal of Zoology. 295 (4): 269–278. doi:10.1111/jzo.12209. ISSN 0952-8369.
^Kohler, Meike (7 April 2011). "Palaeontology: The giant rabbits of Minorca". Nature. 472 (7341): 9. Bibcode:2011Natur.472S...9.. doi:10.1038/472009c.
^Köhler, Meike; Nacarino-Meneses, Carmen; Cardona, Josep Quintana; Arnold, Walter; Stalder, Gabrielle; Suchentrunk, Franz; Moyà-Solà, Salvador (September 2023). "Insular giant leporid matured later than predicted by scaling". iScience. 26 (9): 107654. Bibcode:2023iSci...26j7654K. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2023.107654. PMC10485033. PMID 37694152.
^Jennifer Vegas (March 21, 2011). "Biggest-ever bunny didn't hop, had no enemies". Discovery News. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
^Naish, Darren. "You have your giant fossil rabbit neck all wrong". Scientific American. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
^Bover, Pere; Rofes, Juan; Bailon, Salvador; Agustí, Jordi; Cuenca-Bescós, Gloria; Torres, Enric; Alcover, Josep Antoni (March 2014). "Late Miocene/Early Pliocene vertebrate fauna from Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean): an update". Integrative Zoology. 9 (2): 183–196. doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12049. hdl:10261/113378. PMID 24673762.
^PALOMBO, Maria Rita (January 2018). "Insular mammalian fauna dynamics and paleogeography: A lesson from the Western Mediterranean islands". Integrative Zoology. 13 (1): 2–20. doi:10.1111/1749-4877.12275. ISSN 1749-4877. PMC5817236. PMID 28688123.
^Cardona, Josep Quintana; Agusti, Jordi (May 2019). "First evidence of faunal succession in terrestrial vertebrates of the Plio-Pleistocene of the Balearic Islands, western Mediterranean". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 18 (3): 317–324. Bibcode:2019CRPal..18..317C. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2019.02.001. S2CID 150158569.
April 12, 2024
nuralagus, extinct, genus, leporid, family, rabbits, hares, with, single, species, described, 2011, lived, menorca, balearic, islands, western, mediterranean, during, pliocene, epoch, largest, known, lagomorph, have, ever, existed, with, estimated, weight, kil. Nuralagus is an extinct genus of leporid the family of rabbits and hares with a single species Nuralagus rex described in 2011 It lived on Menorca one of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean during the Pliocene epoch It is the largest known lagomorph to have ever existed with an estimated weight of 8 12 kilograms 18 26 lb nearly double the weight of the average Flemish Giant rabbit It likely went extinct at the Pliocene Pleistocene transition when Mallorca and Menorca were united as one island letting the mammalian fauna of Mallorca including the goat like ungulate Myotragus colonize Nuralagus s habitat NuralagusTemporal range Pliocene PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Life restorationScientific classificationDomain EukaryotaKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass MammaliaOrder LagomorphaFamily LeporidaeGenus NuralagusQuintana et al 2011Species N rexBinomial name Nuralagus rexQuintana et al 2011 Contents 1 Discovery 2 Description 3 Evolution 4 ReferencesDiscovery editSo far all of the fossils have been found in fissure fill deposits in the northwest of Menorca dating to sometime in the Pliocene The material was originally preliminarily described by Pons Moya et al in 1981 who referred it to cf Alilepus The genus and species Nuralagus rex were described in 2011 in a full description of the material which included the front half of a skull as well as numerous isolated postcranial bones corresponding to most of the skeleton 1 Description edit nbsp Size of Nuralagus compared with a European rabbit and a person 5 9 tall nbsp A Nuralagus femur compared to a European rabbit femur With a height of half a meter and an estimated weight of 12 kg 26 lb 1 2 or 8 kg 18 lb 3 the species is the largest known lagomorph being ten times the weight of the average wild European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and around double the weight of the average Flemish Giant rabbit Its size was likely due to island gigantism It had a comparatively small skull relative to its body size and small sensory receptors including orbits and tympanic bullae suggesting reduced senses of hearing and eyesight 1 Nuralagus rex had a short and stiff spine which resulted in low mobility and an inability to jump like other leporids 4 Bone histology analysis suggests that the species was sexually dimorphic with females being larger than males The growth lines within the bones suggest that the large body size was the result of growing over a longer period of time rather than the result of increasing growth rates The age of sexual maturity was estimated at 3 6 years for females and 6 2 years for males considerably higher than would be expected solely based on bodymass 5 Evolution editNuralagus rex likely entered what is now Menorca during the Messinian Salinity Crisis 5 96 5 3 million years ago During this event the Strait of Gibraltar closed leading to the desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea resulting in the connection of the islands to the Iberian Peninsula letting Nuralagus s ancestor colonize the area The subsequent Zanclean flood 5 3 million years ago then returned the Mediterranean to its original sea levels isolating Nuralagus s ancestor on Menorca 6 There is a dearth of knowledge about the evolutionary history of Nuralagus rex in relation to other lagomorphs However similarities between the dental morphology of Nuralagus and Eurasian members of the extinct genus Alilepus have led to speculation that Alilepus is closely related to and possibly the ancestor of Nuralagus 1 7 The only other mammal native to Menorca during the Pliocene was the extinct giant dormouse species Muscardinus cyclopeus which belongs to the same genus as the living hazel dormouse with a herpetofauna including the giant tortoise Solitudo gymnesica snakes amphisbaenian lacertid and gekkonid lizards and alytid frogs 8 Nuralagus probably became extinct around the end of the Pliocene and the beginning of the Pleistocene corresponding with the colonisation of Menorca by the mammals that lived on Mallorca comprising the goat antelope Myotragus the shrew Nesiotites and the dormouse Hypnomys due to the islands being connected during low sea level episodes as a result of Quaternary glaciation 9 10 Nuralagus s unique traits were most likely the product of an insular environment containing no natural predators Physical similarities between Nuralagus rex and Pentalagus furnessi an extant insular lagomorph which until recently also did not have natural predators despite the phylogenetic and geographical distance between the two species further supports this inference 1 References edit a b c d e Quintana Josep Kohler Mike Moya Sola Salvador 2011 Nuralagus rex gen et sp nov an endemic insular giant rabbit from the Neogene of Minorca Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 31 2 231 240 doi 10 1080 02724634 2011 550367 S2CID 83649921 Susan Milius 2011 The Bunny That Ruled Minorca Science News 179 9 18 doi 10 1002 scin 5591790921 Moncunill Sole B Quintana J Jordana X Engelbrektsson P Kohler M April 2015 The weight of fossil leporids and ochotonids body mass estimation models for the order Lagomorpha Journal of Zoology 295 4 269 278 doi 10 1111 jzo 12209 ISSN 0952 8369 Kohler Meike 7 April 2011 Palaeontology The giant rabbits of Minorca Nature 472 7341 9 Bibcode 2011Natur 472S 9 doi 10 1038 472009c Kohler Meike Nacarino Meneses Carmen Cardona Josep Quintana Arnold Walter Stalder Gabrielle Suchentrunk Franz Moya Sola Salvador September 2023 Insular giant leporid matured later than predicted by scaling iScience 26 9 107654 Bibcode 2023iSci 26j7654K doi 10 1016 j isci 2023 107654 PMC 10485033 PMID 37694152 Jennifer Vegas March 21 2011 Biggest ever bunny didn t hop had no enemies Discovery News Retrieved June 27 2011 Naish Darren You have your giant fossil rabbit neck all wrong Scientific American Retrieved 24 October 2013 Bover Pere Rofes Juan Bailon Salvador Agusti Jordi Cuenca Bescos Gloria Torres Enric Alcover Josep Antoni March 2014 Late Miocene Early Pliocene vertebrate fauna from Mallorca Balearic Islands Western Mediterranean an update Integrative Zoology 9 2 183 196 doi 10 1111 1749 4877 12049 hdl 10261 113378 PMID 24673762 PALOMBO Maria Rita January 2018 Insular mammalian fauna dynamics and paleogeography A lesson from the Western Mediterranean islands Integrative Zoology 13 1 2 20 doi 10 1111 1749 4877 12275 ISSN 1749 4877 PMC 5817236 PMID 28688123 Cardona Josep Quintana Agusti Jordi May 2019 First evidence of faunal succession in terrestrial vertebrates of the Plio Pleistocene of the Balearic Islands western Mediterranean Comptes Rendus Palevol 18 3 317 324 Bibcode 2019CRPal 18 317C doi 10 1016 j crpv 2019 02 001 S2CID 150158569 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Nuralagus amp oldid 1192676293, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
