According to the zoological classification, domestic rabbits refer to the species of ordinary rabbits, the genus of rabbits, the family of rabbits, the doubly-incisive subfamily, the order of the lagiformes, the class of mammals. For a long time it was mistakenly believed that rabbits, like hares, are rodents.
However, despite the external similarity of rabbit and hare, it is impossible to obtain hybrids from them both in natural mating and in artificial insemination.
The natural center of the species diversity of rabbits is the New World, where they live on both continents – in the Americas. Outside this zone there is only one species – the European rabbit, which originally lived in Southern Europe. However, this species was brought to different countries of the world and now European rabbits are found in Africa, Australia, on many oceanic islands.
In general, all species of rabbits are heat-loving animals and live in the tropical, subtropical and southern temperate zones. The favorite habitats of rabbits are shrub thickets, meadows with inclusions of arboreal vegetation, less often semi-deserts. Rabbits are sedentary animals, and in contrast to rabbits they have permanent dwellings – burrows. Rabbits can dig burrows independently or occupy abandoned shelters of other animals.
