A CREATURE initially mistaken for an extinct tortoise has turned out to be a giant bunny that had tiny ears and couldn鈥檛 hop.
The 5-million-year-old remains of Nuralagus rex were found on the Spanish island of Minorca by independent researcher Josep Quintana (Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, vol 31, p 1). At an estimated 12 kilograms, it was around 10 times the weight of wild Spanish rabbits today.
N. rex lived alongside tortoises, bats and a large dormouse species, and in the absence of predators chose life in the slow lane. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 have natural enemies, why run?鈥� asks Quintana. Gradually, its legs grew shorter, its ears shrank and its spine lost the curvature that helps rabbits hop.
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