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The European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a species of rabbit native to southern Europe. Because of its extreme abundance in the Iberian Peninsula, Phoenicians chose the name Spain after it. It has been widely introduced elsewhere often with devastating effects on local biodiversity. However, its decline there (caused by the diseases myxomatosis and rabbit calicivirus as well as over-hunting and habitat loss) has caused the decline of its highly dependent predators, the Iberian Lynx and the Spanish Imperial Eagle.