How to identify it
Dark tail underside, unlike white-tailed cottontails. [1]
Short rounded ears and small feet; long toenails on hind feet. [1]
Dark to reddish-brown, dark belly, sparse fur. [1]
1.2-2.2 kg, 425-440 mm. [1]
Compared with the eastern cottontail: Larger head and tail; tail underside white. [1]
Compared with the swamp rabbit: Related but distinct species (source gives no field mark). [1]
Species it is confused with
Check these before deciding what you are looking at. If you are not certain what it is, do not shoot.
- Eastern cottontail · Sylvilagus floridanus
- Swamp rabbit · Sylvilagus aquaticus
Field notes
- Identification Confirm a marsh rabbit before you act. Compared with the eastern cottontail: Larger head and tail; tail underside white.[1]
Where it lives
Lowland freshwater marshes and estuarine areas below about 152 m, near permanent water. [1]
How it behaves
Solitary and nocturnal [1]
Take status not established
North Ground has not established meaningful legal take of this species. That is a gap in the evidence, not a finding that it is protected or that it is open.
Conservation and protection
- ENDANGERED — Lower Keys marsh rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris hefneri): listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act since 1990-06-21. · ECOS species profile: Lower Keys marsh rabbit
Where it is found
Southeastern US: southeast Virginia, southern Georgia, eastern Alabama, Florida peninsula and coastal islands; largest population in the Great Dismal Swamp.
Sources
Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.
- BIOLOGICALMarsh Rabbit
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology