This species and the subspecies comprising it were long considered to be subspecies of the
eastern cottontail (
S. floridanus), but were promoted to species level due to morphological analysis. Genetic data have confirmed the uniqueness of
S. holzneri.
S. holzneri and
S. floridanus are distinguished primarily by size, dental, and cranial differences.
Subspecies According to genetic analysis, there are three
subspecies of
S. holzneri:
"Manzano Mountain cottontail" The
Manzano Mountain cottontail (
S. cognatus) was a species of
Sylvilagus also previously classified in
S. floridanus, until it was later reclassified as a distinct species. This species was thought to be restricted to the
Manzano Mountains in New Mexico, where it occurs in
coniferous forests in high elevation, and was classified as
Endangered by the
IUCN Red List. However, a 2021 phylogenetic analysis found
S. cognatus to be indistinguishable from
S. h. holzneri and synonymized it with
holzneri. This classification was followed by the
American Society of Mammalogists. ==Description==