This animal, which is found in Brasil, is neither a rabbit nor rat, yet
seems to partake of both. It is about a foot long by seven inches in
circumference. It is of the same colour as our hares, but white upon
the belly. It has also, like that animal, a slit lip, large incisive
teeth, and whiskers about the mouth and sides of the eyes; but its ears
are rounded like those of a rat, and very short: the fore-legs are not
more than three inches long, those behind are a little longer. The
fore-feet have four toes covered with a black skin, and furnished with
small short claws: the hind feet have only three toes, the middlemost
of which is longer than the other two. The aperea has no tail; its head
is a little longer than that of the hare, and its flesh is like that
of a rabbit, which it resembles in its manner of living. It conceals
itself also in holes, yet it does not burrow like the rabbit, but
retires into the cavities of rocks, where it is very easily taken. The
animal spoken of by Oviedo, and after him Charlevoix and Montfrasier,
by the name of _cori_, appears to be the same as the apereas. In some
part of the West Indies these animals may be reared in houses or
warrens, as we do rabbits, and which may be the reason why some are
red, white, black, and others of different colours. This conjecture is
not without foundation, for Garcilasso expressly says, that there are
wild and domestic rabbits at Peru which have no resemblance to those of
Spain.