Distribution and Ecology  The tundra hare or Alaska hare is one of the largest members of the genus Lepus (hares and jackrabbits).  This large hare prefers the open terrain of the maritime tundra of western Alaska (see distribution in re red).  Lepus othus is restricted to western Alaska from the Alaska Peninsula to just north of the Seward Peninsula near Kotzebue (Klein 1995). There are historical reports of L. othus occurring on the North Slope of Alaska (hatched area), and its present absence in this region may be a recent event (Klein 1995).  Preferred foods of hares in the Arctic are willow (Salix spp.) and grasses in winter and these dominate their diets where they are sufficiently available (Parker 1977, Klein & Bay 1991, 1994).  As plant diversity increases at lower latitudes other plants are of importance in the winter diet, especially where birch (Betula spp.) is common and there are few willows (Pulliainen & Tunkkari 1987).

Systematics and taxonomy

Lepus othusbelongs to a circumpolar species group that also includes the Arctic or Greenlandic hare, L. arcticus (Greenland and Canada), and the mountain or blue hare, L. timidus (Eurasia).  There has been some debate regarding the taxonomy of these species with some authors recognizing all three as distinct species (Flux & Angermann 1990, Hoffmann 1993).  However, others have suggested a minimum of two species (L. arcticus and L. timidus), and more recent mitochondrial DNA sequence analysis supports a single species concept (Halanych et al. in press).  Although a close relationship between the three species has not been questioned, there has been no clear consensus regarding taxonomic validity or the phylogeography of this species complex (see Angermann 1983; Flux 1983 for reviews).  Based on morphological analysis, Anderson (1974) concluded that L. othus was a distinct species, and therfore not conspecific with L. arcticus or L. timidus.  Another morphological analysis, which included 7 members of the genus Lepus, also recognized L. othus as a distinct species (Ramos 1998).   However, Baker et al. (1983) recognized a minimum of two species, L. timidus (including L. othus) and L. arcticus, based on morphological analysis.  Others have suggested that the three species are conspecific (e.g. Rausch 1963; Corbet 1978).

Phylogenetic relationships within Lepus determined from the mitochondrial gene, cytochrome b (702 bp), suggest that the 3 species of arctic hares are conspecific (Halanych et al. in press).  Species of arctic hares are indistinguishable relative to other interspecific comparisons (8 additional species) within Lepus.  These data also support a sister relationship between the arctic hares and the white-tailed jackrabbit (L. townsendii) as previously noted by Nelson (1909), and more recently by Ramos (1998).  Figure to left:  Topology recovered from maximum parsimony, neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood methods of phylogenetic analysis.  Based on 702 basepairs of cytochrome b.

Alaska subspecies

Literature cited

• Anderson, H. L. Jr. 1974. Natural history and systematics of the tundra hare (Lepus othus Merriam) in western Alaska. (M.S.).
• Anderson, H. L. 1978. Range of the tundra hare. Murrelet, 59:72-74.
• Baker, A. J., J. L. Eger, R. L. Peterson, and T. H. Manning. 1983. Geographic variation and taxonomy of arctic hares. Acta Zool. Fennica 174:45-48. Bee, J. W. & E. R. Hall. 1956. Mammals of northern Alaska on the Arctic Slope. Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas, 309 p.
• Corbet, G.B. 1978. The mammals of the palaearctic region: a taxonomic review. British Museum (Natural History), Cornell University Press, London. 314  pp.
• Flux, J. E. C. 1983. Introduction to taxonomic problems in hares. Acta. Zool. Fennica 174:7-10.
• Flux, J. E. C. & R. Angermann. 1990. The hares and jackrabbits. pp 61-94 In. J.A.  Chapman and J.E.C. Flux (eds.) Rabbits, hares and pikas; staus survey and action plan. Gland: IUCN Switzerland.
• Halanych, K. M, J. R. Demboski, B. J. Van Vuuren, D. R. Klein, & J. A. Cook in press. Cytochrome b phylogeny of North American hares and jackrabbits (Lepus, Lagomorpha) and the effects of saturation in outgroup taxa. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
• Hoffmann, R. S. 1993. Order Lagomorpha. pp. 807-827 In D.E. Wilson and D.M. Reeder (eds.) Mammal species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic  reference. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
• Klein, D. R. 1995. Tundra or Arctic Hares. in Our living resources: a report to  the nation on the distribution, abundance, and health of U.S. plants,  animals, and ecosystems. eds. E. T. LaRoe, et al., U.S. Department of the  Interior, National Biological Service, Washington, DC. p. 359.
• Nelson, E. W. 1909. The rabbits of North America. N. Amer. Fauna. 29:1-314.
• Ramos, C. 1998. PhD thesis.  University of Colorado at Boulder
• Rausch, R. L. 1963. A review of the distribution of holarctic recent mammals. In  Gressit, J.L. ed., Pacific basin biogeography, 29-43, Honolulu Bishop  Museum Press, Hawaii.