The pygmy rabbit is the world's smallest leporid.[3][4][5][6] An average adult weights about 375 to about 500 grams (0.827 to about 1.102 lb). It has a body length of 23.5 to 29.5 centimeters (9.3 to 11.6 in). The female rabbit is slightly larger than the male.
The pygmy rabbit is different from other leporids by its small size, short ears, gray color and small hind legs. It also does not have any white fur on its tail.
The last male purebred Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit died March 30, 2006, at the Oregon Zoo in Portland. The last purebred female died in 2008. A program by the Oregon Zoo, Washington State University and Northwest Trek is trying to preserve the genes by breeding surviving females with the Idaho pygmy rabbit.[9]
↑Goodwin, George Gilbert; Drimmer, Frederick (1954). The Animal kingdom: the strange and wonderful ways of mammals, birds, reptiles, fishes, and insects; a new and authentic natural history of the wildlife of the world, Volume 1. Cornell University. p. 246.
↑Goodwin, George C. (1962). Small mammals. Cornell University.