Sandstone Hare

Sandstone hare is similar and, apparently, systematically close to thawing . For the first time, these species were separated by S. I. Ognev in 1940 ^[1] . Later, A. G. Bannikov , who also considered sandstone and thawing as separate species, showed that their ranges are in contact in southern Mongolia : sandstone inhabits mainly the Gobi desert in the western and central parts of the country, and the thai steppes and semi-deserts of Mongolia ^[2] . The same point of view was shared by V.E. Sokolov and V.N. Orlov, who studied the mammals of Mongolia decades later ^[3] . Thus, from the point of view of S.I. Ognev and his followers, the tolai range ( Lepus tolai Pallas 1811) covers northern Mongolia and enters the Chui steppe , Tuva , Buryatia and the Trans-Baikal Territory on the territory of Russia, hares inhabiting the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, Southern Kazakhstan , Uzbekistan , Turkmenistan , Kyrgyzstan , and Tajikistan, from the point of view of domestic zoologists, belong to the species Lepus tibetanus .

Range: Afghanistan , China ( Gansu , Inner Mongolia , Xinjiang ), Mongolia , Pakistan. L. tibetanus is found at heights of up to 3,500-4,000 m. It lives on pastures or in shrubbery in the area of ​​deserts, semi-deserts and steppes.

This species is mostly twilight, but can be observed during the day. Eats herbaceous plants, seeds, berries, roots and branches.

Three to 10 cubs are born. It happens from 1 to 3 broods per year.

The length of the head and body is 40–48 cm, the length of the tail is from 5.0 to 7.5 cm, the weight is 1625–2500 g, the length of the foot is 109–135 mm, the ears are 81–110 mm. The body is slim with a relatively small head. The fur on the back is dark yellow or sand with a black streak. The ventral side is yellowish white. The ears are wide at the base, the tips of the ears are black-brown.

• China Red List & Johnston, CH 2008. Lepus tibetanus
• Desert Hare. In: Andrew T. Smith, Yan Xie . A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, 2008; S. 290