Implications

• A greater diversity of rabbit species occurs in North America compared with Europe.
• Archeological evidence demonstrates thousands of years of human–rabbit interactions in both Europe and North America, particularly at the ancient city of Teotihuacan (~AD 1–550) in central Mexico where several studies suggest practices of rabbit management by humans.
• The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is the only lagomorph species to have been domesticated by humans.
• This review finds that behavioral differences between European and North American rabbits explain their differential suitability for domestication.