Lepus europaeus
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English: Brown hare
German: Feldhase
French: Lievre commun
Spanish: Liebre
Distribution areas
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The brown hare is found in Europe and in
East Asia. Other species of the hare are
known in other continents. Introduction of
the brown hare into other areas by man
continues.
Description of the fur The surface structure
---------------------- of the skin, 200x
The skins are from 60 to 80 cm long; the
tail measures about 8 to 10 cm. The winter coat is denser and thicker than
the summer one but the coloration is similar. The undercoat is white, usually
from 8 to 14 mm thick, and the coarser hairs are up to 35 mm long. The guard
hairs are coloured dark-brown or black in the middle of the shafts but the
tips are red or yellowish-brown.
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Lepus europaeus
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English: Brown hare
German: Feldhase
French: Lievre commun
Spanish: Liebre
Structure of the hair
---------------------
The microscopic structure of the skin
surface is furrowed and covered by narrow
hair follicles with straight edges. The
average follicle contains a cluster of
hairs fibres; only the coarse guard hairs
occur singly in the follicles.
Longitudinal section
The fine fur fibres have a diameter of of a guard hair, 600x
12 to 18 µm, and their cross-sections are
circular or ellipsoidal in outline. The cuticular scales are cornet-like at
the bottom of the shaft but those of the middle and upper parts are
petal-like. The scale surface and scale margins are smooth. The medulla is
wide, unbroken and central symmetrical-shaped in cross-section. The overall
structure of the medulla belongs to the uniserial ladder type with an
amorphous infilling material.
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Lepus europaeus
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English: Brown hare
German: Feldhase
French: Lievre commun
Spanish: Liebre
The intermediate fibres are circular at
the bottom, but ellipsoidal or dumb-bell-
-shaped in the middle and upper parts, of
the shafts. The diameter is from 20 to 60 µm
and the cuticle is covered by chevron-like
scales with a smooth surface and straight
scale margins. The medulla is wide, unbroken
and central symmetrical-shaped in cross-
-sectional outline. The overall structure of Transverse section
the medulla belongs to the multiserial of a fine fur fibre, 2000x
ladder type. The infilling substance is
sheet-like.
The guard hairs are circular at the bottom of the shafts but the middle
parts are flattened into ellipsoidal or sickle-shaped cross-sectional
outline. The diameter of the guard hairs is from 80 to 170 µm in the
flattened parts. The cuticular scales are rounded tile-like at the bottom of
the shaft and, in the upper parts, they are chevron-like. The surface of the
scales is smooth and the margins are straight.
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Lepus europaeus
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English: Brown hare
German: Feldhase
French: Lievre commun
Spanish: Liebre
The medulla is wide, unbroken and central
symmetrical-shaped in cross-section. The
overall structure of the medulla is the
multiserial ladder type, with a sheet-like
or granular infilling substance.
The cuticular structure
of the fine fibres, 1000x
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Lepus europaeus
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English: Brown hare
German: Feldhase
French: Lievre commun
Spanish: Liebre
Transverse section
of a guard hair, 400x
Numerical code for hare skin structure
--------------------------------------
Surface of the skin: 3-4-3
Fine fur fibres: 1.2-5.11-1-1-2-1-1-1-8-12.18-5.18
Intermediate fibres: 1.2-8-1-1-2-1-1-4-1.6-20.61-15.28
Guard hairs: 1.2-8.3-1-1-2-1-1-4-1.6-80.171-30.35
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