![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/profile-view-of-the-amami-rabbit-pentalagus-furnessi-a-nocturnal-species-endemic-to-the-amami-island.jpeg\"\/)
Profile view of the Amami rabbit Pentalagus furnessi, a nocturnal species endemic to the Amami Islands, globally endangered.\u00a9 Shutterstock<\/p>\n
This anatomy links the rabbit to its possible ancestor, Pliopentalagus, an extinct genus from the late Miocene to late Pliocene, known from fossils in China, Japan, and Europe. As reported in the Review of the Biology and Conservation of the Amami Rabbit, the Pentalagus furnessi lineage may have diverged as early as the Middle Miocene, placing it among the earliest radiating leporids. Fossil molars found on Tokunoshima further support the rabbit\u2019s long-standing presence on these islands.<\/p>\n
Though fossils tell part of the story, the rabbit\u2019s present existence is just as compelling. It remains strictly nocturnal, vocalizes like a pika, and avoids heat stress by emerging only when temperatures fall below 24\u00b0C. \u201cRabbits appeared at the entrances of their burrows before they became active, and made calls that could be heard loud and clear in small valleys,\u201d wrote Yamada. This behavior, combined with their rugged environment, reveals a species still finely tuned to the rhythms of the old-growth forest.<\/p>\n
Fragile Home, Shrinking Population<\/p>\n
The Amami rabbit requires a precise combination of forest conditions: a mosaic of old and young woods, dense undergrowth, and cool, shaded valleys. These forests once covered most of the islands, but widespread logging, agriculture, and residential development have drastically reduced their range. According to population estimates from Sugimura and Yamada (2004), the number of individuals on Amami \u014cshima dropped from around 6,100 in the 1990s to 2,000\u20134,800 by 2003. On Tokunoshima, where forest cover is more fragmented, only about 400 rabbits are thought to remain.<\/p>\n
The rabbit\u2019s habitat isn\u2019t just shrinking, it\u2019s being fragmented. On Amami \u014cshima, the forest cover still makes up 86% of the land, while on Tokunoshima, that number is only 44%. The rabbits rely on thick valleys and scarp rocks to dig their L-shaped burrows, which range from 30 cm to nearly 2 meters in length. These burrows are essential for shelter and breeding, yet they are often placed near forest roads and exposed edges, making the rabbits more vulnerable to external threats.<\/p>\n
Despite being designated a natural monument in 1921 and upgraded to a special natural monument in 1963, conservation action lagged behind the pressures of economic development. According to Yamada, even after hunting was prohibited, habitat destruction continued nearly unchecked until the late 1990s, when monitoring and protective programs began taking shape.<\/p>\n
Under Siege from Predators They Never Evolved to Face<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most severe blow to the Amami rabbit came not from humans, but from a small, carnivorous mammal introduced with good intentions. In 1979, the small Indian mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) was released on Amami \u014cshima to control venomous snakes, but instead, it found a new prey: native species, including the Amami rabbit.<\/p>\n
Diet analysis conducted by Yamada and colleagues in the early 2000s showed that 8% of mongoose pellets contained remains of the rabbit. \u201cThere has been no clear evidence that the mongooses prey on snakes,\u201d Yamada noted, underlining the failed intent of their introduction. Mongoose populations quickly spread into the mountainous forests, where they hunted a wide range of invertebrates, amphibians, birds, and mammals.<\/p>\n
To combat this, Japan\u2019s Ministry of the Environment began a mongoose eradication program in 2005. While progress has been made, the rabbit remains at risk from feral cats and dogs as well, both of which have adapted to forested regions. Combined with habitat loss, these invasive species have contributed to the rabbit\u2019s placement on the IUCN Red List as an Endangered species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Endemic to Amami \u014cshima and Tokunoshima in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Pentalagus furnessi, often dubbed a \u201cliving fossil\u201d, is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222000,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[61,60,82,263],"class_list":{"0":"post-221999","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-science","11":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221999"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221999\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}