Hypolagus

See text Hypolagus is an extinct genus of lagomorph, first recorded in the Hemingfordian (early to middle Miocene) of North America.

It entered Asia during the early Turolian and spread to Europe not much later, where it survived until the Middle Pleistocene.

Though unknown in the Iberian Peninsula, fossils of this genus have been found in the Balearic Islands, suggesting an eastern migration during the dry period in the Mediterranean region known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis.

[1] Hypolagus generally shows features intermediate between rabbits and hares.

Hypolagus balearicus was the smallest species at 1.3–2.7 kg (2.9–6.0 lb) and showed several peculiar features, such as short elbow-to-humerus ratio and robustness of the ulna.

Restoration of Hypolagus (lower middle left) and other animals of the Haystack Assemblage