Ultrasonographic characterisation of prenatal development in European brown hares (Lepus europaeus PALLAS, 1778): an evolutionary approach

The European brown hare is one species in which reproduction appears to be particularly complex. Therefore, we studied the reproductive tract and prenatal development using high-resolution ultrasound of 159 pregnancies in 45 captive female hares. Consecutive examination of live hares was particularly useful in evaluating the very early stages of gestation. As such, it was possible to detect corpora lutea by Day 3 and embryonic vesicles, representing the earliest uterine embryonic stages, by Day 6. On Day 11, the heart beat of the embryo was detectable for the first time. We defined ultrasonographic milestones that were characteristic of the different stages of pregnancy. We also calculated growth models using eight different morphological parameters, including development of the corpus luteum. On the basis of these results, it is now possible to estimate the gestational age of a pregnant doe without knowing the date of conception. In contrast with the European rabbit, a distant relative, European hares give birth to precocial young. A comparison of the prenatal growth rate of both species suggests that the precocial state of the hare neonate is a more recently derived evolutionary characteristic, whereas the altricial condition of rabbits represents the ancestral mode.