This animal, which is very common in the country which borders on the
Lake Baikal, in Tartary, is a little larger than a rabbit, which it
resembles in figure, colour of the hair, taste of the flesh, and in
the habit of burrowing in the earth to conceal itself. Their internal
structure is also the same, and they differ only in the tail, which
is considerably longer than that of the rabbit; it, therefore, seems
very probable that it does not really constitute a different species,
but is only a variety in that of the rabbit. Rubruquis, speaking of
the animals of Tartary, says, "There are rabbits with long tails,
which have black and white hairs at the end. There are no stags, few
hares, many gazelles, &c." This passage seems to indicate that our
short-tailed rabbit is not to be met with in Tartary, or rather that
it has undergone some variations in that climate, and especially in
the length of the tail; for as the tolai resembles the rabbit in
every other respect, I do not think it necessary to consider them as a
distinct and separate species.