Japanese hare Japanese hare The Japanese hare ("Lepus brachyurus") is a species of hare native to Japan. Coenraad Jacob Temminck described the Japanese hare in 1845. The species name is derived from the Ancient Greek "brachys" "short" and "ouros" "tail". The four subspecies of this hare are: The Japanese hare is reddish-brown, with a body length that ranges from , and a body weight of . Its tail grows to lengths of . Its front legs can be from long and the back legs from long. The ears grow to be long, and the tail long. In areas of northern Japan, the
Swedish Hare temperament and athletic body type were paramount in developing the Elfin rabbit. Arched and muscular but large Rhinelanders were bred to the American version of the smaller Polish breed to bring the size. Other foundation stock included the Belgian Hare, the Tan, the Harlequin, the Mini Satin, and the Britannia Petite. Now that the Elfin have been included in the Swedish Hare population, an international exchange of breeding stock is possible. Though it is not the standard of the Swedish Hare, the working standard for the Elfin breed (which appears below) called for a small rabbit weighing no more than