Abstract: Publisher Summary Laboratory rabbits, descendents of the European wild rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculus, along with other rabbits, hares, and pikas, are classified as the members of the order Rodentia or rodents. However, instead of the four incisor or chisel teeth characteristic of rodents, rabbits have six. The additional pair is reduced in size and placed directly behind the large pair in the upper jaw. These little teeth are rounded and lack a cutting edge. The order Lagomorpha comprises two major families, the Ochotonidae and Leporidae, with many genera and species native to all parts of the world. The pikas, sometimes called rock rabbits or mouse hares, are small, tailless members with short, broad, rounded ears, chunky bodies, and short legs. The front pair of legs is a little shorter than the rear pair. This chapter discusses the genetic features of rabbits. Rabbits could produce hemolysins and agglutinins against red blood cells of other rabbits. On the basis of this work, rabbits are classified into four blood types. Rabbits may be inbred by a number of different breeding systems; the simplest is the brother–sister inbreeding. In this system, it is possible to intersperse father–daughter or mother–son matings with no change in the theoretical rate of inbreeding provided that no one animal is used more than two generations and that these generations are consecutive. Animals may be inbred by half sib mating, although the rate of change is somewhat slower.
Publication Year: 1994
Publication Date: 1994-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 64
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