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Post by Hamsters82 on Sept 30, 2007 9:28:40 GMT -4
Yesterday my Mom looked outside and told me a cute little bunny was sitting near our back porch looking as cute as ever. So that got me thinking, when did researchers finally realize that rabbits are no longer rodents?
Thanks.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Sept 30, 2007 12:16:02 GMT -4
No idea. And I can't research it now. I can't understand why they ever were considered rodents since there are so many differences - including four front incisors just on the top jaw for rabbits instead of two..
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Post by hamwolf89 on Sept 30, 2007 14:08:34 GMT -4
Well I could see it would be a simple mistake. As we all know that rodents have different behavioral patterns. Like some burrow, some glide and some build dames. I would guess that they have mistaken rabbits for rodents as some behavioral similarities along with a few physical similarities.
"Originally, rabbits were included in Rodentia, and they weren’t formally separated from them until Gidley (1912) did so. What makes this decision particularly interesting is that Gidley suggested that lagomorphs had no close relationship to rodents at all, but shared some intriguing similarities with artiodactyls. While a few authors commented on this idea after Gidley, the evidence for it isn’t great. Mostly it comes down to a superficial similarity between certain Cenozoic artiodactyls (like cainotheres) and lagomorphs, and the transverse chewing style and artiodactyl-like ankle structure of lagomorphs."
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Post by Hamsters82 on Oct 1, 2007 14:03:45 GMT -4
Wow, that was interesting that bit right there, thanks Hollie. And I'm the same with you Hollie, I can see how they thought they were rodents too. Sometimes animals just look it. Look at the Orca, you'd think they be in with the whales, when in fact they are in the dolphin family. And there probably plenty more!
I'll have to look up rabbits when I have the time to see when they knew they weren't rodents.
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 1, 2007 19:39:49 GMT -4
I assume you know lagomorphs and rodents have very different front incisors, and their poop and pooping behaviors, among other things, are quite different. Rabbits are easily litter pan trained; some do not even need training. Try that with a rodent. And I love rodents!
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Post by Hamsters82 on Oct 1, 2007 20:10:29 GMT -4
When I was younger rabbits looked an awful like a rodent. I would see a squirrel and think they were cousins. So when I learned that they weren't cousins I was shocked and had to know why. Once I learned why it was easy to see, but some aren't. If I can remember correctly a Koala Bear isn't part of the bear family. There is a dog called the Tibetan Terrier, but he's not a terrier at all. The Brittany isn't a Spaniel, the hyena isn't part of the canidae family. There are a lot of animals that are mislabeled. Even this site says they looked close together and said it stopped in the early 20th century. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagomorpha
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 1, 2007 20:44:33 GMT -4
Ask Andrea to comment in here!
Make a list of animals that look like other types of animals. . . but are not.
One of the most obvious and well known examples is the hyrax - NOT a rodent! Know some others?
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Post by hamwolf89 on Oct 1, 2007 20:48:08 GMT -4
I know that hedgehogs and mole are also not rodents
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Post by Die Fledermaus on Oct 1, 2007 21:39:07 GMT -4
The mole rat is not a rat, right?
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Post by hamwolf89 on Oct 1, 2007 21:45:14 GMT -4
ummmmmmmmmmm not.....sure
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Post by Andrea on Oct 2, 2007 13:55:28 GMT -4
Degus, Guinea pigs and Chinchillas are all part of the Cavey family.
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