Mexican cottontail
Sylvilagus cunicularius (Waterhouse, 1848)
The mexican cottontail (Sylvilagus cunicularius) is a species in the family Leporidae, order Lagomorpha. Recorded adults weigh 2.49 kg to 3 kg. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the mexican cottontail
- Weight
- 2.49 kg – 3 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 30 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.71src for Young per litter or clutch
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the mexican cottontail live?
Not recorded
What is the mexican cottontail?
The Mexican cottontail (Sylvilagus cunicularius) is a species of cottontail rabbit that is endemic to southern Mexico. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, subtropical or tropical dry forests and pastureland.
From the Wikipedia article “Mexican cottontail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mexican_cottontail&oldid=1330973742), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mexican cottontail endangered?
The mexican cottontail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the mexican cottontail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderLagomorpha
- familyLeporidae
- genusSylvilagus
- SpeciesSylvilagus cunicularius (Waterhouse, 1848)
Other names and names in other languages (14)
- Mexikanisches BaumwollschwanzkaninchenGerman
- Μεξικανικό ΑγριοκούνελοGreek
- conejo montésSpanish
- Conejo de monteSpanish
- Conejo De MontesSpanish
- conejo serranoSpanish
- meksikonkaniiniFinnish
- メキシコワタオウサギJapanese
- Meksikansk DuskhalekaninNorwegian Bokmål
- Mexicaanse KatoenstaartkonijnDutch
- królak króliczyPolish
- Coelho-mexicanoPortuguese
- Мексиканский кроликRussian
- 墨西哥棉尾兔Chinese
Relatives of the mexican cottontail
Other species in the same genus Sylvilagus.
Eastern cottontail
Sylvilagus floridanus
Swamp rabbit
Sylvilagus aquaticus
Brush rabbit
Sylvilagus bachmani
Common tapeti
Sylvilagus brasiliensis
Desert cottontail
Sylvilagus audubonii
Mountain cottontail
Sylvilagus nuttallii
CompareMexican cottontail vs Eastern cottontailMexican cottontail vs Swamp rabbitMexican cottontail vs Brush rabbitMexican cottontail vs Common tapeti
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the mexican cottontail?
An adult mexican cottontail weighs 2.49 kg – 3 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the mexican cottontail endangered?
The mexican cottontail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long is the mexican cottontail pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 30 days.
What kind of animal is the mexican cottontail?
The mexican cottontail (Sylvilagus cunicularius) belongs to the family Leporidae in the order Lagomorpha.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mexican cottontail (Sylvilagus cunicularius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mexican-cottontail
“Mexican cottontail (Sylvilagus cunicularius).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mexican-cottontail.
@misc{mexican_cottontail_2026,
title = {Mexican cottontail (Sylvilagus cunicularius)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mexican-cottontail},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}