cottontail rabbit

The cottontail rabbits are the 16 lagomorph species in the genus Sylvilagus, found in the Americas.In appearance most cottontail rabbits closely resemble the wild European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Most members of the genus have a stub tail with a white underside that shows when they are retreating, giving them their name "cottontails." However, this feature is not present in all cottontails (for example, the underside of the Brush Rabbit's tail is grey), nor is it unique to the genus (for example, the European Rabbit also has a white scut).
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Noun
1. common small rabbit of North America having grayish or brownish fur and a tail with a white underside; a host for Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis (Lyme disease ticks)
(synonym) wood rabbit, cottontail
(hypernym) rabbit, coney, cony
(hyponym) eastern cottontail, Sylvilagus floridanus
(member-holonym) Sylvilagus, genus Sylvilagus
(part-meronym) rabbit, hare