The Easter bunny came early this year for a few scientists working on the Spanish island of Minorca.

The team has just announced the discovery of Earth’s biggest known rabbit species, an oddly unbunny-like giant dubbed Nuralagus rex—”the Minorcan king of the hares.”The 26-pound (12-kilogram) prehistoric species was about six times bigger than the common European rabbit, found on most continents, according to an analysis of several bones. The newfound rabbit’s “roly-poly, tanklike” appearance and weird anatomy may have arisen because of its stress-free lifestyle.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110323-giant-rabbit-minorca-biggest-bunny-science-nuralagus-rex-largest/
http://www.vertpaleo.org/source/blog/post.cfm/press-release-giant-extinct-rabbit-was-the-king-of-minorca

__________________________________
Laura K. Säilä, PhD