European hare vs Irish Plume

Lepus europaeus compared with Platyptilia tesseradactyla

Key Differences

• European hare is Near Threatened while Irish Plume is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	European hare	Irish Plume
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lagomorpha (Rabbits & Hares)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Leporidae (Rabbits & Hares)	Pterophoridae
Genus	Lepus	Platyptilia
Species	Lepus europaeus	Platyptilia tesseradactyla

Evolutionary Relationship

European hare and Irish Plume share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

European hare

NT — Near Threatened

Irish Plume

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	European hare	Irish Plume
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

European hare

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 7 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (10 countries), North America (4 countries), and South America (8 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Irish Plume

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate coniferous forests, temperate grasslands and steppes, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 5 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Armenia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia), Europe (23 countries), and North America (Canada, United States). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

European hare

European hare (Lepus europaeus) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 10 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇴 Norway 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States