Brachylagus idahoensis (Merriam 1891)

[Lepus] idahoensis Merriam 1891, N. Amer. Fauna, 5: 76.

Type Locality: "Pahsimeroi Valley [near Goldburg, Custer County], Idaho." [USA].

Vernacular Names: Pygmy Rabbit.

Distribution: SW Oregon to EC California, SW Utah, N to SW Montana (USA). Isolated population in WC Washington (USA).

Conservation: U. S. ESA – Endangered for isolated population in Washington (Columbia River Basin); IUCN – Lower Risk (nt), species-wide; yet recently species is in decline.

Discussion: Formerly included in Sylvilagus; but see Corbet (1983). Placed in the monotypic genus Brachylagus by Dawson (1967) and, together with bachmani, in the genus Microlagus by Gureev (1964:170-173); but also see Hall (1981:294), who recognized Brachylagus as a subgenus. This species is widely sympatric with Sylvilagus nuttallii, and perhaps overlaps narrowly with S. audubonii . It has been interpreted as either a primitive rabbit (Hibbard, 1963), or as derived from Sylvilagus (Corbet, 1983) . Reviewed by Green and Flinders (1980, Mammalian Species, 125).