The ␣-1L adrenoceptor (AR) was identified in rabbit ear artery by both functional and ligand binding studies. In functional studies using arterial rings, the contractile response to NS-49 [(R)-(Ϫ)-3Ј-(2-amino-1-hydroxyethyl)-4Ј-fluoromethanesulfonanilide hydrochloride] (␣-1A and ␣-1L AR-selective agonist) was competitively antagonized with low affinities by prazosin, RS-17053 [N-[2-(2-cyclopropylmethoxyphenoxy) ethyl]-5-chloro-␣,␣-dimethyl-1H-indole-3-ethamine hydrochloride], and 5-methylurapidil but with high affinities by tamsulosin and KMD-3213In contrast, the response to noradrenaline (nonselective ␣-1 AR agonist) was inhibited noncompetitively by these antagonists (except 5-methylurapidil) with Schild slopes different from unity. These results suggest that the response to NS-49 was mediated predominantly via ␣-1L ARs, whereas the response to noradrenaline was produced through two distinct ␣-1 AR subtypes (presumably ␣-1B and ␣-1L ARs). In binding studies with intact segments of rabbit ear artery, [3 H]KMD-3213 bound with high affinity (pK D ϭ 9.7) to ␣-1 ARs, which were subdivided by prazosin, RS-17053, and 5-methylurapidil into two subtypes (␣-1A and ␣-1L ARs). In contrast, [3 H]prazosin binding sites in ear artery segments (pK D ϭ 9.8) were identified as ␣-1A and ␣-1B ARs. In conventional binding studies using isolated rabbit ear artery microsomal membranes, [ 3 H]KMD-3213 binding sites were identified as ␣-1A ARs with high affinities for prazosin, RS-17053, and 5-methylurapidil. Our study indicates that an ␣-1L AR having a unique pharmacological profile coexists with ␣-1A and ␣-1B ARs in rabbit ear artery and can be identified either functionally or by binding studies using intact tissues but not microsomal membrane preparations.