"Nuralagus rex" entered what is now Menorca during the Messinian Salinity Crisis 5.3 million years ago. During this event, the desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea connected the island to mainland Spain, letting "Nuralagus" ancestor colonize the area. The subsequent Zanclean flood then returned the Mediterranean to its original sea levels, isolating "Nuralagus" ancestor on Menorca. "Nuralagus" divergence from its ancestor corresponds to the general increase in leporid diversity found in the Pliocene. Although the time of its extinction is uncertain, it possibly coincided with the general decrease in leporid diversity found in the Holocene.