In “New to Nature No 57: Nuralagus rex” (The Guardian, October 23, 2011), Quenton Wheeler tells us about the 2.5 mya “fossil of the giant rabbit of Menorca show it to be the largest lagomorph ever seen” (rabbit, hare):
The small skull of Nuralagus, which lived on Menorca, suggests dramatic decreases in hearing, sight, and motor-related abilities compared to typical rabbits. Because it had no known predators, there was no selection for detecting or outrunning them. The lagomorph, the largest ever seen, appears to have had reduced aerobic capacity and to have walked slowly rather than jumped quickly.
Given that the animal lived on a remote island (Minorca, in the Balearics in the Mediterranean), it may be analogous to the extinct (in recent memory)10-ft, flightless elephant bird of Madagascar, prey in recent history to French colonists.