%0 Journal Article %A CHENG Cheng %A GE Deyan %A XIA Lin %A YANG %A ZHOU Caiquan %T Morphometrics study on the so called ‘Cape hare’(Lagomorpha:Leporidae:Lepus)in China %D 2012 %R %J ACTA THERIOLOGICA SINICA %P 275-286 %V 32 %N 4 %X In this paper,validity of the so called ‘Cape hare’in China is studied by biometric methods,using 64 linear measurements of 147 specimens. The Chinese ‘Cape hare’and African Lepus capensis are significantly different in several neurocranial -shape - related measurements,for example,the greatest length of the cranium,the greatest breadth of mastoid, the breadth of occipital condyles and so on,which indicate L. capensis probably is not a valid name for the hares in China. There are two distinct populations of L. c. lehmanni from the north and the southwest of Xinjiang respectively, which might be recognized as two species. We approve the view of Hoffmann and Smith (2005)that the population from
north of Tianshan is supposed to be L. tolai,while the population from southwest of Tianshan may belong to L. tibetanus. The populations named as subspecies L. capensis huangshuiensis and L. c. centrasiaticus [assigned by Luo (1981)], however,show little differences with the populations of L. c. tolai from Inner Mongolia both in the present principal components analysis and discriminate analysis. These populations may be categorized as L. tolai. Hares from Huangshui Valley (L. c. huangshuiensis)and Central Asia (L. c. centrasiaticus)show insignificant differences with those of L. c. tolai from Inner Mongolia. These two ‘subspecies’could be assigned to L. tolai also. Hares from Yanbian,Jilin Province are also assumed to be L. tolai rather than L. coreanus due to insignificant variances with L. c. tolai. %U http://www.mammal.cn/EN/abstract/article_2887.shtml