Brachylagus fossil map
Where fossils of Brachylagus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 0 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 0 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 1.4–0.0117 million years ago (Calabrian to Late Pleistocene) |
| Periods | Quaternary |
| Family | Leporidae |
| Named by | Miller 1900 |
| Fossil records | 10 occurrences at 3 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | United States |
| Rock formations | txn:42163 |
About Brachylagus
Brachylagus is a genus of lagomorph that contained the smallest living leporid, the pygmy rabbit before it was reclassified as a member of Sylvilagus in 2022. The genus name was originally proposed by Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. in 1900 as a subgenus for the pygmy rabbit, as it then had the scientific name Lepus idahoensis, but its characteristics differed greatly from the known subgenera of the time. Marcus Ward Lyon Jr. elevated the subgenus to genus level in 1904. One extinct species, Brachylagus coloradoensis, is known to belong to the genus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Brachylagus (revision 1351216851), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q10741095.
