A study of the biology of the wild rabbit in climatically different regions in eastern Australia. III. Some data on the evolution of coat colour

Abstract

Variations in coat colour in 1766 rabbits collected from four climatically different regions in eastern Australia are described.

In less than 80 yr coat colour has changed significantly, apparently by selection of quantitative genes rather than qualitative ones. In the arid area selection has been towards yellowness and in the wet alpine area towards blackness, compared with the coat colour in intermediate climates.