Why? Compared to other taxonomic groups, only few scientists are working currently on the disentanglement of hare systematics and available information is scarce for several hare species. In particular, there is a profound lack of knowledge concerning the distribution of Lepus sp. in Africa and Near East, making it difficult to unravel biogeographic processes in this important biodiverse region. One aim of this thesis is to outline the possibilities for prospective molecular analyses (e.g. of museum specimen) to properly resolve systematics of African hares. Additionally, combining data on species occurrence with environmental factors may contribute to clarify the ecological niches of different taxonomic units, overall geographical distribution and underlying factors and may help to prioritize future studies.

Therefore, I am collecting data on distribution from various sources as museums, scientific and grey literature, databases, etc. If you have general or specific information on this topic, suggestions or know further persons to contact do not hesitate to send me an e-mail:
anna.schertler@students.boku.ac.at
THANK YOU!"