Turning to the Table: the first four wild rabbits have skulls of the
same length, and these differ but little in capacity. The Sandon rabbit
{126} (No. 4) is interesting, as, though now wild, it is known to be
descended from a domesticated breed, as is still shown by its peculiar
colouring and longer body; nevertheless the skull has recovered its
normal length and full capacity. The next three rabbits are wild, but
of small size, and they all have skulls with slightly lessened
capacities. The three Porto Santo feral rabbits (Nos. 8 to 10) offer a
perplexing case; their bodies are greatly reduced in size, as in a
lesser degree are their skulls in length and in actual capacity, in
comparison with the skulls of wild English rabbits. But when we compare
the capacities of the skull in the three Porto Santo rabbits, we
observe a surprising difference, which does not stand in any relation
to the slight difference in the length of their skulls, nor, as I
believe, to any difference in the size of their bodies; but I neglected
to weigh separately their bodies. I can hardly suppose that the
medullary matter of the brain in these three rabbits, living under
similar conditions, can differ as much as is indicated by the
proportional difference of capacity in their skulls; nor do I know
whether it is possible that one brain may contain considerably more
fluid than another. Hence I can throw no light on this case.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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