Keywords
conservation
distribution
extinction
Guerrero
lagomorphs
rediscovery
Sierra Madre del Sur
How to Cite
Abstract
The Omiltemi rabbit (Sylvilagus insonus), endemic to the state of Guerrero, Mexico, was described in 1904 by Edward Nelson. After its discovery, the species disappeared from the scientific literature for almost a century. Although only a skin was recorded in 1998 and a possible photograph in 2005, from the vicinity of Puerto del Gallo in Atoyac, it was considered likely extinct. Here, we report photographic and video records that confirm its existence. Our findings are based on 14 surveys conducted between 2009 and 2024 as part of a study of jaguar distribution in the Sierra Madre del Sur (SMS) of Guerrero. Using camera traps across an area of 1,800 km2, 311 records of the Omiltemi rabbit were obtained in 44 localities in five of the twelve sampled municipalities. The distribution of the Omiltemi rabbit is limited to the middle and upper reaches of the SMS, above, covering at least an area of 542 km2. Most records (88%) were obtained in pine-oak forests and cloud forests in the montane forest (12%). The activity pattern was nocturnal, with peaks at 7:00 p.m., 2:00 a.m., and 5:00 a.m. This work confirms that the Omiltemi rabbit is a rare species, but not only is it not extinct, but it is also much more common than previously known. Its rediscovery is of great importance for the conservation of mammals in Mexico and around the world.
References
Abramov, A., R.J. Timmins, D. Touk, J.W. Duckworth y R. Steinmetz. 2008. Nesolagus timminsi. IUCN red list of threatened species. (Consultado el 9 de abril de 2025).
Andrade-Sánchez, J., E. Mellink, M. Riojas-López, S. Tremor y S.E. Vanderplank. 2024. Site occupation and range expansion by the endangered, Mexican microendemic San Quintín Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys gravipes). Journal of mammalogy, 105:168-174.
Arriaga, L., J.M. Espinoza., C. Aguilar., E. Martínez., L. Gómez y E. Loa (eds.). 2000. Regiones Terrestres Prioritarias. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, México, D.F.
Ávila-Nájera, D.M., M.A. Lazcano-Barreto, C. Chávez, S. Pérez-Elizalde, B. Tigar, y G.D. Mendoza. 2019. Habitat use of jaguar (Panthera onca) in a tropical forest in northern Quintana Roo, Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 90:E902186.
Ceballos, G. ed. 2014. Mammals of Mexico. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
Ceballos, G. y D. Navarro. 1991. Diversity and conservation of Mexican mammals. Pp. 167-198, en: Latin American Mammalogy: History, Biodiversity, and Conservation [Mares, M.A. y D.J. Schmidly, eds.]. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.
Ceballos, G., A. Barnosky, A. García, R.M. Pringle, T.M. Palmer y P.R. Ehrlich. 2015. Accelerated Modern Human Induced Species Losses: Entering the Sixth Mass Extinction. Science Advances, 1:e1400253.
Ceballos, G., P.R. Ehrlich y R. Dirzo. 2017. Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses anddeclines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 114:1-8 E6089-E6096.
Cervantes, F. A., Lorenzo, C y F. X. González-Cózatl. 2003. The Omiltemi rabbit (Sylvilagus insonus) is not extinct. Mammalian Biology, 68:1-4.
Cervantes, F., Figueroa, N., Romero, F. y A.L. Colmenares. 2005. Los Mamíferos Silvestres de México. (Ceballos, G y Oliva, eds.) Fondo de cultura Económica-CONABIO
Chapman J.A y G. Ceballos. 1990. The cotton tail. Pp.95-110, en: Rabbits Hare and Pikas. Status survey and conservation action plan. (Chapman J.A. y J.A.C. Flux, eds.) Gland: IUCN.
Chávez, C., Ceballos G., Medellín, R.A. y H. Zarza. 2007. Primer censo nacional de jaguar. Pp. 133−14, en: Conservación y manejo del jaguar en México: estudios de caso y perspectivas. (Ceballos, G., C. Chávez, R. List y H. Zarza, eds). CONABIO/ Alianza WWF/Telcel/Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.
Chávez, C., A. de la Torre, H. Bárcenas, R. Medellín, H. Zarza y G. Ceballos. 2013. Manual de fototrampeo para estudio de fauna silvestre. El jaguar en México como caso de estudio. Alianza WWF-Telcel/ Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. México D.F.
Ehrlich, P.R., G. Ceballos y R. Dirzo. 2024. Before they vanish: saving nature’s populations and ourselves. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
Endangered Wildlife Trust. 2024. FOUND: Iridescent blind mole with super-hearing powers re-discovered ‘swimming’through sand dunes of South Africa. Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation, 44:5.
Heritage S., H. Rayaleh, D.G. Awaleh y G.B. Rathbun. 2020. New records of a lost species and a geographic range expansion for sengis in the Horn of Africa. PeerJ, 8:e9652 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.9652
IUCN. 2025. IUCN Red Listo f Threatened Species. IUCN, Gland. https://www.iucnredlist.org (accesado Abril 15, 2025).
Lemon, J. 2006. Plotrix: A Package in the Red Light District of R. R-News, 6:8-12.
Lorenzo C, J. Vázquez, L. Rodríguez-Martínez, A. Bautista, A. García-Méndez, F. Cervantes. 2018. Sylvilagus cunicularius. Mexican Cottontail. Pp. 131, en: Lagomorphs. Pikas, rabbits, and hares of the World. (Smith A., C. Johnston, P. Alves, K. Hacklander, eds.)
MacPhee, R.D. y C. Flemming. 1999. Requiem æternam: the last five hundred years of mammalian species extinctions. Pp. 333-371, en: Extinctions in near time: causes, contexts, and consequences. Boston, MA: Springer US.
Monterroso P., P.C. Alves, P. Ferreras. 2014. Plasticity in circadian activity patterns of mesocarnivores in southwestern Europe: implications for species coexistence. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 68:1403-1411.
Morrone, J.J., T. Escalante y G. Rodriguez-Tapia. 2017. Mexican biogeographic provinces: Map and shapefiles. Zootaxa, 4277:277-279.
Murphy, D. 2025. Found: Small enigmatic rabbit with black tail lost to science for more than 120 years rediscovered hopping around mountain range in Mexico. Rewild.org . 23 de enero de 2025. (Consultado el 9 de abril de 2025).
Nelson, 1904. Descriptions of seven new rabbits from Mexico. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 17:103-110.
Nielsen C., L. Berkman. 2018. Sylvilagus floridanus. Eastern Cottontail. Pp. 137, en: Lagomorphs. Pikas, rabbits, and hares of the World. (Smith A., C. Johnston, P. Alves, K. Hacklander. eds.)
NOM-059-SEMARNAT. 2019. Lista de especies en riesgo de la Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2010, Protección ambiental-Especies nativas de México de flora y fauna silvestres-Categorías de riesgo y especificaciones para su inclusión, exclusión o cambio-Lista de especies en riesgo. Publicada el 30 de diciembre de 2010. DOF. (Diario Oficial de la Federación). México D.F.
Ruiz-Gutiérrez, F., C. Chávez, G. Sánchez-Rojas, C. Moreno, C. González-Salazar, B.O. Ruiz-Gutiérrez y R. Torres Bernal. 2020. Mamíferos medianos y grandes de la sierra Madre del Sur de Guerrero, México: evaluación integral de la diversidad y su relación con las características ambientales. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, e913168.
Rzedowski, J. 2006. Vegetación de México. 1ra edición digital. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad, México.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2025 UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO