The last unconfirmed sighting of the species at Nevado de Toluca (where no permanent colony has been historically documented) occurred in August 2003 when supposedly one volcano rabbit was observed. Since 1987, however, research conducted by Hoth et al., in relation to the distribution of the Volcano Rabbit already found no records of this species in the Nevado de Toluca, including the site where Tikul Álvarez (IPN) collected a specimen in 1975 (Nevado de Toluca, 4 km S, 2 km W Raíces, 3350 masl). Notwithstanding, although no permanent colony has been documented in Nevado de Toluca, the volcano rabbit was declared extinct within this portion of its range in 2018; populations exist elsewhere within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and in captivity.. Due to the above, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (Red Data Book, IUCN 2019), no longer mentions the Nevado de Toluca as a current or potential site for the distribution of this species.