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The Holotype
When it was identified as a new
species in 1819 by Commander John Ross, the Arctic
hare was named Lepus arcticus, for the area in
which it lives. The definition of the species was
based on a hare collected in 1818 at Possession
Bay, Bylot Island, which is now in Nunavut.
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Naming and
Classifying
What's in a Name?
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 The mountain hare (Lepus timidus) of northern Europe and Siberia is a close relative of the Arctic hare.
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In the North, local names for the Arctic hare (Lepus
arcticus)
in Inuktitut, Inuinaqtun, and Innu include many similar variations
of Ukaliq, including: Okalerk, Okalik and Okalishugyuk.
An English-speaker would pronounce Ukaliq something like "ook-ah-lick" ('ook',
as in 'book').
When speaking English, Northern residents call the Arctic
hare 'rabbit'. Historically, the Arctic hare has also been
called the alpine hare and the polar hare. In Newfoundland,
Arctic hares are simply called 'hares', although sometimes
they are called 'jackrabbits' (but not 'rabbit', which is
used to refer to the snowshoe hare).
To avoid confusion from the variety of common names that
may be applied to the same animal, scientists use Latin to
devise a specific scientific name for each species. The scientific,
species name of the Arctic hare is Lepus
arcticus, which
means 'hare of the Arctic'.
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