EXTERNAL FEATURES OF RABBIT

The entire body of rabbit is densely coverd with hair and fur. The colour of the body is variable;the wild european variety of the rabbit is dusty brown dorsally but it is white on sidesand underside;the lowerpart of the tail is also white. However,with black or brown patches.The adultrabbit is about40 cm long and weighs1-2kg.Itsbody is pointed anteriorly but broad posteriorly.It is divisible into head ,neck ,trunk and tail.           HEAD  ;Tehe headis largeand spherical behind but is pointed anteriorly to form the snout. Theundersurface of the snout has a transverseslit-like mouth which is surrounded by movable hairy upper and lower lips.A vertical median cleft divides the  upper lip into left and right halves.Such divided upperlip is called hare lip.The cleft exposes upperincisors and it extends upto the upper nostrils which are two oblique openings situated just above the mouth are set byfleshy cheeks which make mastication possible.                                                                                                 At isdes of the snoutare long stiff sensotry hairs called whiskers or vibressae. Since they have nerve endings at thier base, they are very sensitive to contacti.e., they serve for tactile  reception.The vdistance between the tips  of the the longest whiskers on one side of the lip and those of the other side is greater than that of the trunk and sincer they are very sensitive by the way they touch the side of the borrow.                                                                                                                                               A pair oflarge and protuberent but immoile eyes,lodged in orbit, are present in right and left side of the head behind the nose. Each eye is provide with mobile upper and lowereye lids which bearfew eye lashes. A third eye  lid called nictitating membrane is also present in each eye. It lacks lashes and is opaque.It is suppor by the thick cartilageand usually remains at  the front folder of the eye . Ocassionally it spreads over the eye to clean it. The dorso -laterral eyeprovide a wide field of the vision of the rabbit . There fore, therabbit can  observe enemies approaching even from behind without turnig its head.                                                         Twolong exterrna ears pinnae are situated at the the spherical top of the head.The dorsal surface of each externa ear is hairy but under surface which is directed infront, issmmoth and hairless.Each external ear is somewhat folded venerally to form a funnel like auricle that lead to a narrow tube called external auditory meatus which is limitwed by the tympanum on the inner side.