Some Biological Characteristics of a Feral Rabbit, Oryctolagus Cuniculus (L.), Population of Wild and Domestic Origin.

Abstract

Some biological characteristics of a population of rabbits on a small island off Victoria, Australia, are described. The common ectoparasites of the rabbit in Australia, Leporacarus gibbus (Pgst.), Cheyletiella parasitivorax (Megn.) and Haemadipsus ventricosus (Denny), were found on all 24 rabbits examined in detail. The occurrence of Ctenocephalides canis (Curt.), Ixodes cornuatus Roberts and I. tasmani Neum. has already been reported. Spilopsyllus cuniculi (Dale) was not found, although it had been released on an island nearby 2 years earlier.