---
title: "Central American Tapeti"
description: "Sylvilagus gabbi — Mammals. The Central American tapeti (Sylvilagus gabbi) or Gabb's cottontail is a species of cottontail rabbit native to southern Mexico and much of Central America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/central-american-tapeti
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Central American Tapeti

> Sylvilagus gabbi — Mammals. The Central American tapeti (Sylvilagus gabbi) or Gabb's cottontail is a species of cottontail rabbit native to southern Mexico and much of Central America.

- Scientific name: *Sylvilagus gabbi*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 435
- Wikidata: [Q61722418](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q61722418)
- iNaturalist taxon: [1353296](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1353296)

## Names

- en: Central American Tapeti
- de: Mittelamerikanisches Tapeti
- es: Conejo tropical

## Countries with the most observations

CR (138), PA (45), MX (34), HN (18), NI (7), GT (3)

## Summary

The Central American tapeti (Sylvilagus gabbi) or Gabb's cottontail is a species of cottontail rabbit native to southern Mexico and much of Central America. It was previously considered a subspecies of the common tapeti (Sylvilagus brasiliensis) but analysis in 2017 confirmed that it is sufficiently distinct in both appearance and genetics to be considered a species in its own right. It is closely related to the northern tapeti, which some authors describe as a subspecies of S. gabbi. The name Gabbi's cottontail comes from American paleontologist William More Gabb.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_American_tapeti

## Photo

![Central American Tapeti](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/central-american-tapeti/medium.jpg)

Photo: Steph Brulot-Sawchyn · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/293286816

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/central-american-tapeti?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).