In the large lop-eared rabbits the only difference in the lower jaw, in
comparison with that of the wild rabbit, is that the posterior margin
of the ascending ramus is broader and more inflected. The teeth in
neither jaw present any difference, except that the small incisors,
beneath the large ones, are proportionately a little longer. The molar
teeth have increased in size proportionately with the increased width
of the skull, measured across the zygomatic arch, and not
proportionally with its increased length. The inner line of the sockets
of the molar teeth in the upper jaw of the wild rabbit forms a
perfectly straight line; but in some of the largest skulls of the
lop-eared this line was plainly bowed inwards. In one specimen there
was an additional molar tooth on each side of the upper jaw, between
the molars and premolars; but these two teeth did not correspond in
size; and as no rodent has seven molars, this is merely a monstrosity,
though a curious one.
The five other skulls of common domestic rabbits, some of which
approach in size the above-described largest skulls, whilst the others
exceed but little those of the wild rabbit, are only worth notice as
presenting a perfect gradation in all the above-specified differences
between the skulls of the largest lop-eared and wild rabbits. In all,
however, the supra-orbital plates are rather larger, and in all the
auditory meatus is larger, in conformity with the increased size of the
external ears, than in the wild rabbit. The lower notch in the
occipital foramen in some was not so deep as in the wild rabbit, but in
all five skulls the upper notch was well developed.
The skull of the _Angora_ rabbit, like the latter five skulls, is
intermediate in general proportions, and in most other characters,
between those of the largest lop-eared and wild rabbits. It presents
only one singular character: though considerably longer than the skull
of the wild rabbit, the breadth measured within the posterior
supra-orbital fissures is nearly a third less than in the wild. The
skulls of the _silver-grey,_ and _chinchilla_ and _Himalayan_ rabbits
are more elongated than in the wild, with broader supra-orbital plates,
but differ little in any other respect, excepting that the upper and
lower notches of the occipital foramen are not so deep or so well
developed. The skull of the _Moscow rabbit_ scarcely differs at all
from that of the wild rabbit. In the Porto Santo feral rabbits the
supra-orbital plates are generally narrower and more pointed than in
our wild rabbits.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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