[7] The specific name furnessi refers to the original discoverer of the Amami rabbit, William Henry Furness III.

[11] The Amami rabbit also eats the fruits of Balanophora yuwanensis, a parasitic flowering plant, for which they are the main distributors of seed.

[12] The Amami rabbit has short feet and hind legs, a somewhat bulky body, and rather large and curved claws used for digging and sometimes climbing.

[15] It has heavy, long and very strong claws, being nearly straight on the forefeet and curved on the hindfeet [15] The eyes are also small compared to more common rabbits and hares.

[18] They also use the high density of perennial grasses and herbaceous ground cover in the young forests for their diets during different times of the year.

[20] Habitat destruction, such as forest clearing for commercial logging, agriculture space, and residential areas, is the most detrimental activity on the distribution of these rabbits.

[24] The Amami rabbit also faces huge threats from the invasive predators, being a major cause for the decline in population size.

[2] On the island of Amami, the small Indian mongoose (Urva auropunctata) was released to control the population of a local venomous snake, and its numbers have increased dramatically.

[20] Suggested conservation work for the future includes habitat restoration and predator population control, as a healthy balance of mature and young forests still exists on the southern end of Amami.

[13] Eradication of the mongooses and feral cats and dogs is needed, as well as better control of pets by local island residents.