Corsican hare

The Corsican hare, Lepus corsicanus, also known as the Apennine hare or Italian hare, is found in southern and central Italy and on Corsica. It was first described as a species in 1898 from specimens collected on Corsica, was later treated as a subspecies of the European hare, and is now often treated as a full species because it does not appear to hybridize with the European hare where their ranges overlap. It is largely brown with a cream-coloured belly, grey rather than white bases to the underfur hairs, and a head and body length of 44.1 to 61.2 centimetres. It lives in maquis shrubland, grassland, cultivated areas and dunes, and is common on Sicily up to 2,400 metres on Mount Etna. Its population appears to be declining and the IUCN classifies it as vulnerable, threatened by habitat loss, hunting and competition with European rabbits and introduced European hares.