Abstract
SINCE my previous communication on this subject1various fresh data have thrown new light on the coprophagy or refection rhythm in wild rabbits. Taylor2 reported, that of a number of wild rabbits shot and examined for the presence in the stomach of soft fæcal pellets such as are re-ingested immediately, those shot in the evening contained such pellets ; those shot in the morning did not. He suggested, therefore, that the rhythm in wild rabbits was the reverse of that found in domestic rabbits ; the resting period of the former being during the day, naturally this would be the time when soft or 'night' pellets are produced and swallowed.
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References
Southern, H. N., NATURE, 145, 262 (1940).
Taylor, E. L., Vet. Rec, 52, 259–62.
Eden, A., NATURE, 145, 628–9 (1940).
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SOUTHERN, H. Periodicity of Refection in the Wild Rabbit. Nature 149, 553–554 (1942). https://doi.org/10.1038/149553b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/149553b0
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